Objective:To investigate the distribution characteristics of sensory,sympathetic,and motor neurons as-sociated with the"Shenshu(BL 23)"and"Guanyuan(CV 4)"acupoints and the ovary,and to elucidate th...Objective:To investigate the distribution characteristics of sensory,sympathetic,and motor neurons as-sociated with the"Shenshu(BL 23)"and"Guanyuan(CV 4)"acupoints and the ovary,and to elucidate the neural anatomical connections between these acupoints and the ovary.Methods:In this study,dual fluorescent neural tracing was utilized,with twelve female Sprague-Dawley rats being randomly allocated into two groups(n=6 per group)for the purpose of administering tracer injections at distinct anatomical sites:the"BL 23"-ovary group received injections of Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated cholera toxin subunit B(AF488-CTB)at the left"BL 23"and Fluoro-Gold(FG)in the left ovary;the"CV 4"-ovary group received AF488-CTB at“CV 4”and FG in the left ovary.Three days post-injection,the distribution of AF488-CTB and FG-labeled neural components was observed in the dorsal root ganglia(DRGs),sympathetic chain,and spinal cord tissues.Results:①Sensory neurons labeled with AF488-CTB associated with"BL 23"were primarily distributed in the thoracic(T)10 to lumbar(L)2 DRGs,concentrated in T12-T13;postganglionic sympathetic neurons were mainly located in the thoracolumbar sympathetic chain;motor neurons were predominantly found in the anterior horn of the T11-L1 spinal cord segments.②Sensory neurons labeled with AF488-CTB associated with"CV 4"were primarily located in T10-L3 DRGs,concentrated in T13-L2 DRGs;postgan-glionic sympathetic neurons were mainly distributed in the lumbar sympathetic chain;motor neurons were primarily found in the anterior horn of T11-L2 spinal cord segments.③FG-labeled sensory neu-rons associated with the ovary were mainly distributed in the T9-L3 DRGs,concentrated in the T12-L2 DRGs;postganglionic sympathetic neurons were primarily located in the lumbar sympathetic chain.④Double-labeled(AF488-CTB and FG)sensory neurons associated with the"BL 23"and ovary were mainly distributed in the T12-T13 DRGs,with double-labeled postganglionic sympathetic neurons primarily in the lumbar sympathetic chain;double-labeled sensory neurons associated with the"CV 4"and ovary were mainly distributed in the T13-L1 DRGs,with double-labeled postganglionic sympathetic neurons primar-ily in the lumbar sympathetic chain.No double-labeled motor neurons were observed for either acupoint with the ovary.Conclusion:"BL 23"and"CV 4"and the ovary in rats exhibit segmental connections in sensory and sympathetic innervation,which may serve as the neural anatomical pathway and basis for acupuncture at these acupoints to regulate ovarian function.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China:82305409National Key Research and Development Program of China:2022YFC3500504。
文摘Objective:To investigate the distribution characteristics of sensory,sympathetic,and motor neurons as-sociated with the"Shenshu(BL 23)"and"Guanyuan(CV 4)"acupoints and the ovary,and to elucidate the neural anatomical connections between these acupoints and the ovary.Methods:In this study,dual fluorescent neural tracing was utilized,with twelve female Sprague-Dawley rats being randomly allocated into two groups(n=6 per group)for the purpose of administering tracer injections at distinct anatomical sites:the"BL 23"-ovary group received injections of Alexa Fluor 488-conjugated cholera toxin subunit B(AF488-CTB)at the left"BL 23"and Fluoro-Gold(FG)in the left ovary;the"CV 4"-ovary group received AF488-CTB at“CV 4”and FG in the left ovary.Three days post-injection,the distribution of AF488-CTB and FG-labeled neural components was observed in the dorsal root ganglia(DRGs),sympathetic chain,and spinal cord tissues.Results:①Sensory neurons labeled with AF488-CTB associated with"BL 23"were primarily distributed in the thoracic(T)10 to lumbar(L)2 DRGs,concentrated in T12-T13;postganglionic sympathetic neurons were mainly located in the thoracolumbar sympathetic chain;motor neurons were predominantly found in the anterior horn of the T11-L1 spinal cord segments.②Sensory neurons labeled with AF488-CTB associated with"CV 4"were primarily located in T10-L3 DRGs,concentrated in T13-L2 DRGs;postgan-glionic sympathetic neurons were mainly distributed in the lumbar sympathetic chain;motor neurons were primarily found in the anterior horn of T11-L2 spinal cord segments.③FG-labeled sensory neu-rons associated with the ovary were mainly distributed in the T9-L3 DRGs,concentrated in the T12-L2 DRGs;postganglionic sympathetic neurons were primarily located in the lumbar sympathetic chain.④Double-labeled(AF488-CTB and FG)sensory neurons associated with the"BL 23"and ovary were mainly distributed in the T12-T13 DRGs,with double-labeled postganglionic sympathetic neurons primarily in the lumbar sympathetic chain;double-labeled sensory neurons associated with the"CV 4"and ovary were mainly distributed in the T13-L1 DRGs,with double-labeled postganglionic sympathetic neurons primar-ily in the lumbar sympathetic chain.No double-labeled motor neurons were observed for either acupoint with the ovary.Conclusion:"BL 23"and"CV 4"and the ovary in rats exhibit segmental connections in sensory and sympathetic innervation,which may serve as the neural anatomical pathway and basis for acupuncture at these acupoints to regulate ovarian function.
