Frequency analysis of catecholamine axonal morphology in human brain: I. Effects of postmortem delay interval

Rosemarie M. Booze; Charles F. Mactutus; Catherine R. Gutman; James N. Davis

doi:10.1016/0022-510X(93)90197-7

Research article| Volume 119, ISSUE 1, P99-109, October 1993

Frequency analysis of catecholamine axonal morphology in human brain

I. Effects of postmortem delay interval

Rosemarie M. Booze
Rosemarie M. Booze
Correspondence
Correspondence to: Rosemarie M. Booze, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MS-305 UKMC, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA. Tel.: (606) 233-6507; Fax: (606) 258-1981.
Affiliations
Department of Pharmacology and College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA
Search for articles by this author
Charles F. Mactutus
Charles F. Mactutus
Affiliations
Department of Pharmacology and College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA
Search for articles by this author
Catherine R. Gutman
Catherine R. Gutman
Affiliations
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Department of Pharmacology, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Search for articles by this author
James N. Davis
James N. Davis
Affiliations
Department of Medicine (Neurology), Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Department of Pharmacology, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Search for articles by this author

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510X(93)90197-7

This paper is only available as a PDF. To read, Please Download here.

Abstract

The diverse morphologies of catecholamine axons in the human brain were examined by using tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry. Human brain tissue was obtained by either rapid autopsy (mean postmortem delay < 1 h) or routine autopsy (mean postmortem delay 5 h). Tissue blocks from the superior frontal cortex (Brodmann area 9), the hippocampal gyrus and the calcarine cortex (Brodmann area 17) were processed for tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity. First, a quantitative method was developed to reliably identify differing morphologies of catecholamine axons in human brain tissue. A total of 625 tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive axons were randomly sampled from coded sections and classified into one of six distinct morphological categories. These categories were based upon axonal morphologies which were readily distinguished by trained observers, and moreover, further investigations demonstrated that entire tissue sections could be reliably re-sampled at intervals of up to six months. Second, regional variations in axonal distribution and the effects of increasing postmortem delay in tissue processing on the categories of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive axon morphologies were examined. Postmortem delays of up to 6.5 hours were found to decrease the frequency of fine axons with varicosities (axon type 2) and increase thick-caliber straight axons (axon type 5) in all regions examined. The frequency of other morphological axon types did not change as a function of postmortem delay. In summary, the use of quantitative neuroanatomical measures of the catecholaminergic system in human brain tissue was found to be reliable and valid. It was furthermore demonstrated that postmortem delays affect selected morphological types of catecholamine axons. These results indicate that interpretation of immunostained human material must include careful consideration of the effects of postmortem delay on immunoreactive axonal morphology.

Keywords

To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

Purchase one-time access:

One-time access price info

For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

Subscribe:

Already a print subscriber? Claim online access

Already an online subscriber? Sign in

Register: Create an account

Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

References

- Agnati L.F.
- Fuxe K.
Quantitative Neuroanatomy in Transmitter Research.
Plenum Press, New York1984
- Google Scholar
- Berger B.
- Tassin J.P.
- Rancurel G.
- Blanc G.
Catecholaminergic innervation of the human cerebral cortex in presenile and senile dementia — histochemical studies and biochemical studies.
in: Usdin E. Sourkes T.L. Youdim M.B.H. Enzymes and Neurotransmitters in Mental Health Disease. John Wiley and Sons, Chichester1980: 317-328
- Google Scholar
- Björklund A.
Fluorescence histochemistry of biogenic amines.
in: Handbook of Chemical Neuroanatomy. Vol. 1. Elsevier, New York1983: 50-121
- Google Scholar
- Black I.B.
- Geen S.C.
Postmortem changes in brain catecholamine enzymes.
Arch. Neurol. 1975; 32: 47-49
- BMDP
BMDP Statistical Software.
University of California Press, Berkeley, California1987
- Google Scholar
- Booze R.M.
- Hall J.A.
- Cress N.M.
- Miller G.D.
- Davis J.N.
Abnormal tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive fibers in rat hippocampus following administration of the noradrenergic neurotoxin, DSP-4.
Exp. Neurol. 1988; 101: 75-86
- Booze R.M.
- Crisostomo E.A.
- Davis J.N.
Beta-adrenergic receptors in the hippocampal and retrohippocampal regions of rats and guinea pigs: Autoradiographic and immunohistochemical studies.
Synapse. 1993; 13: 206-214
- Booze R.M.
- Mactutus C.F.
- Gutman C.R.
- Davis J.N.
Frequency analysis of catecholamine axonal morphology in human brain. II. Alzheimer's disease and hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth.
J. Neurol. Sci. 1993; 119: 110-118
- Braak H.
Architectonics as seen by lipofuscin stains.
in: Peters A.A. Jones E.G. Cerebral Cortex, Vol. 1, Cellular Components of the Cerebral Cortex. Plenum Press, New York1984: 59-106
- Google Scholar
- De la Torre J.C.
Catecholamines in the human diencephalon: a histochemical fluorescence study.
Acta Neuropathol. (Berl.). 1972; 21: 165-168
- Emson P.C.
- Koob G.F.
The origin and distribution of dopamine-containing afferents in the rat frontal cortex.
Brain Res. 1978; 142: 249-267
- Fuxe K.
- Hamberger B.
- Hökfelt T.
Distribution of noradrenaline nerve terminals in cortical areas of the rat.
Brain Res. 1968; 8: 125-131
- Gaspar P.
- Berger B.
- Alvarez C.
- Vigny A.
- Henry J.P.
Catecholaminergic innervation of the septal area in man: immunocytochemical study using TH and DBH antibodies.
J. Comp. Neurol. 1985; 241: 12-33
- Gaspar P.
- Berger B.
- Febvret A.
- Vigny A.
- Henry J.P.
Catecholaminergic innervation of the human cerebral cortex as revealed by comparative immunohistochemistry of tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine-beta-hydroxylase.
J. Comp. Neurol. 1989; 279: 249-271
- Gaspar P.
- Berger B.
- Fevret A.
- Vigny A.
- Krieger-Poulet M.
- Borri-Voltattorni C.
Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the human cerebral cortex: a novel catecholaminergic group?.
Neurosci. Lett. 1987; 80: 257-262
- Grote S.S.
- Moses S.G.
- Robins E.
- Hudgens R.W.
- Croninger A.B.
A study of selected catecholamine metabolizing enzymes: a comparison of depressive suicides, and alcoholic suicides with controls.
J. Neurochem. 1974; 23: 791-802
- Hausman L.
Atlases of the Spinal Cord and Brainstem and Forebrain.
Charles C Thomas, Springfield, IL1969
- Google Scholar
- Hökfelt T.
- Martensson R.
- Björklund A.
- Kleinau A.
- Goldstein M.
Distributional maps of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the rat brain.
in: Handbook of Chemical Neuroanatomy. Vol. 2. Elsevier, New York1984: 277-379
- Google Scholar
- Hornung J.P.
- Tork I.
- DeTribolet N.
Morphology of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the human cerebral cortex.
Exp. Brain Res. 1989; 76: 12-20
- Hsu S.M.
- Raine L.
- Fanger H.
Use of avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase techniques: a comparison between ABC and unlabeled antibody (PAP) procedures.
J. Histochem. Cytochem. 1981; 29: 577-580
- Joh T.H.
- Reis D.J.
Different forms of tyrosine hydroxylase in central dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons and sympathetic ganglia.
Brain Res. 1975; 85: 146-151
- Lewis D.A.
- Campbell M.J.
- Foote S.L.
- Goldstein M.
- Morrison J.H.
The distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive fibers in primate neocortex is widespread but regionally specific.
J. Neurosci. 1987; 7: 279-290
- Levitt P.
- Rakic P.
- Goldman-Rakic P.
Region-specific distribution of catecholamine afferents in primate cerebral cortex: a fluorescence histochemical analysis.
J. Comp. Neurol. 1984; 227: 23-36
- Losonczy M.F.
- Davidson M.
- Davis K.L.
The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia.
in: Melzer H.Y. Psychopharmacology: The Third Generation of Progress. Raven Press, New York1987: 715-726
- Google Scholar
- Loy R.
- Koziell D.A.
- Lindsey J.D.
- Moore R.Y.
Noradrenergic innervation of the adult rat hippocampal formation.
J. Comp. Neurol. 1980; 189: 699-710
- MacKay A.V.P.
- Davies P.
- Dewar A.J.
- Yates C.M.
Regional distribution of enzymes associated with neurotransmission by monoamines, acetylcholine and GABA in the human brain.
J. Neurochem. 1978; 30: 827-839
- Mann D.M.A.
- Lincoln J.
- Yates P.O.
- Stamp J.E.
- Toper S.
Changes in the monoamine containing neurones of the human CNS in senile dementia.
Br. J. Psychiat. 1980; 136: 533-541
- McGeer P.L.
- McGeer E.G.
Enzymes associated with the metabolism of catecholamines, acetylcholine and GABA in human controls and patients with Parkinson's disease and Huntington's chorea.
J. Neurochem. 1976; 26: 65-76
- PubMed
- Google Scholar
- Morrison J.H.
- Foote S.L.
- Molliver M.E.
- Bloom F.E.
- Lidov H.G.W.
Noradrenergic and serotonergic fibers innervate complementary layers in monkey primary visual cortex: an immunohistochemical study.
in: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 79. 1982: 2401-2405
- Google Scholar
- Noack H.J.
- Lewis D.A.
Antibodies directed against tyrosine hydroxylase differentially recognize noradrenergic axons in monkey neocortex.
Brain Res. 1989; 500: 313-324
- Perry E.K.
- Tomlinson B.E.
- Blessed G.
- Perry R.H.
- Cross A.J.
- Crow T.J.
Neuropathological and biochemical observations on the noradrenergic system in Alzheimer's disease.
J. Neurol. Sci. 1981; 51: 279-287
- Pickel V.M.
- Joh T.H.
- Field P.M.
- Becker C.G.
- Reis D.J.
Cellular localization of tyrosine hydroxylase by immunohistochemistry.
J. Histochem. Cytochem. 1975; 23: 1-12
- Powers R.E.
- Struble R.G.
- Casanova M.F.
- O'Connor D.T.
- Kitt C.A.
- Price D.L.
Innervation of human hippocampus by noradrenergic systems: normal anatomy and structural abnormalities in aging and in Alzheimer's disease.
Neuroscience. 1988; 25: 401-417
- Puymirat J.
- Javoy-Agid F.
- Gaspar P.
- Ploska A.
- Prochiantz A.
- Agid Y.
Postmortem stability and storage in the cold of brain enzymes.
J. Neurochem. 1979; 32: 449-454
- Siegel S.
Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences.
McGraw-Hill, New York1956
- Google Scholar
- Siever L.J.
Role of noradrenergic mechanisms in the etiology of the affective disorders.
in: Meltzer H.Y. Psychopharmacology: The Third Generation of Progress. Raven Press, New York1987: 493-504
- Google Scholar
- Torack R.M.
- Morris J.C.
Tyrosine hydroxylase-like (TH) immunoreactivity in human mesolimbic system.
Neurosci. Lett. 1990; 116: 75-80

Article info

Publication history

Accepted: April 18, 1993

Received in revised form: April 13, 1993

Received: October 15, 1992

Identification

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510X(93)90197-7

Copyright

ScienceDirect

Access this article on ScienceDirect

Property	Value
Status
Version
Ad File
Disable Ads Flag
Environment
Moat Init
Moat Ready
Contextual Ready
Contextual URL
Contextual Initial Segments
Contextual Used Segments
AdUnit
SubAdUnit
Custom Targeting
Ad Events
Invalid Ad Sizes