期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1972
卷号：69
期号：9
页码：2722-2726
DOI：10.1073/pnas.69.9.2722
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Improvements in the method for localization of dopamine-{beta}-hydroxylase by immunofluorescence allow the observation of noradrenergic-cell bodies, non-terminal fibers, and axon terminals in the rat brain. The distribution of the hydroxylase correlated well with the results obtained by localization of norepinephrine. Dopamine-{beta}-hydroxylase was not observed in dopaminergic neurons or terminals, indicating that these cells do not have the capacity to synthesize norepinephrine. The use of the hydroxylase as a marker, however, has made it possible to visualize noradrenergic nerve terminals on small arteries in the brain parenchyma that have not been described by catecholamine-fluorescence histochemistry. The source of the terminals on small arteries appears to be central noradrenergic neurons rather than the peripheral sympathetic nervous system. Dopamine-{beta}-hydroxylase generally was not observed in the large arteries of the brain parenchyma. These observations suggest that cerebral microcirculation is regulated by central noradrenergic neurons.
