The present study investigated the effect of unilateral axotomy of urinary bladder trigone (UBT)-projecting nerve fibers from the right anterior pelvic ganglion (APG) on changes in the chemical coding of their neuronal bodies. The study was performed using male pigs with immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The animals were divided into a control (C), a morphological (MG) or a molecular biology group (MBG). APG neurons supplying UBT were revealed using the retrograde tracing technique with Fast Blue (FB). Unilateral axotomy resulted in an over 50% decrease in the number of FB+ neurons in both APG ganglia. Immunohistochemistry revealed significant changes in the chemical coding of FB+ cells only in the right ganglion: decreased expression of dopamine-B-hydroxylase (DBH)/tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and up-regulation of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT)/choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), galanin (GAL), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and brain nitric oxide synthase (bNOS). The qPCR results partly corresponded with immunofluorescence findings. In the APGs, genes for VAChT and ChAT, TH and DBH, VIP, and NOS were distinctly down-regulated, while the expression of GAL was up-regulated. Such data may be the basis for further studies concerning the plasticity of these ganglia under experimental or pathological conditions.
Keywords: anterior pelvic ganglion; immunohistochemistry; male pig; neurotransmitters; plasticity of pelvic neurons; quantitative real-time PCR; unilateral axotomy.