Co-expression patterns of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) with neuropeptides in dorsal root ganglia of the pig

In the present study the neuronal distribution of CART was evaluated immunohistochemically in porcine dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). In co-localization studies the co-expression patterns of CART with SP, CGRP, galanin, CALB and LENK were investigated by means of triple immunohistochemical stainings. In porcine DRGs, the expression of CART was found in approximately 5% of primary sensory neurons. The vast majority (ca. 95%) of CART-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were small and middle sized, and only 5% were categorized as large. CART-IR neurons additionally exhibiting the presence of SP/CGRP (ca. 12%), SP/CALB (ca. 12%), SP/LENK (ca. 5%) were found. The vast majority of CART-IR/CGRP-IR neurons did not display immunoreaction to SP (ca. 60%). Subclasses of CART-IR/LENK-IR/SP-negative (ca. 5%), as well as CART-IR/CALB-IR/SP-negative neurons (ca. 10%), were also visualized. In addition, CART-IR neurons with no immunoreactivities to any of the neuropeptides studied were also shown. In porcine DRGs none of the CART-IR neurons exhibited the presence of galanin. The results obtained in the study suggest that CART may functionally modulate the activity of the porcine primary sensory neurons. It is concluded that co-expression of CART with CGRP, SP, LENK and CALB in subsets of the pig L1-L6 DRGs neurons provide anatomical evidence for a CART role in pain processing.