Light- and electron-microscopic analysis of neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive profiles in the cat spinal dorsal horn

The organization of neuropeptide Y-containing profiles in the dorsal horn of cat lumbosacral spinal cord was examined in an immunocytochemical study employing a specific antiserum against neuropeptide Y. Light-microscopic inspection revealed heavy concentrations of immunoreactive axons and varicosities within the superficial layers of the dorsal horn (laminae I and II) and only low to moderate numbers of positive terminals in the deeper layers (laminae III–VI). Neuropeptide-Y immunoreactivity in the superficial laminae occurred primarily as single punctate terminals, although in sagittal sections long rostrocaudally orientated fibres were also found. Immunoreactive fibres in the deeper layers were usually long and beaded. Two-hundred and eight neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive profiles throughout laminae I–VI were examined through serial sections with the electron microscope, and the overwhelming majority ( n = 194) was confirmed to be axon terminals, most of which (95%) formed synaptic junctions. These terminals were packed with small irregularly shaped agranular vesicles, together with a number of large dense-core vesicles. Immunoreactivity was homogenously scattered throughout the cytoplasm, and was also associated with the dense-core vesicles. A few neuropeptide Y-containing profiles ( n = 14) were difficult to classify but they could have been vesicle-containing dendrites. The postsynaptic targets of neuropeptide Y-positive terminals were similar throughout each dorsal horn lamina. Most frequently, neuropeptide Y-positive boutons formed axodendritic and axosomatic synaptic junctions (range = 64% of synapses in laminae V/VI to 83% in lamina III). A smaller proportion of synapses were found upon other axon terminals and in laminae I–III the postsynaptic axon terminals were sometimes the central boutons of glomeruli. A number of terminals, especially those in lamina II, formed multiple synapses which often comprised a triadic arrangement. These findings suggest that neuropeptide Y regulates spinal sensory transmission through both a postsynaptic action upon dorsal horn neurons and a presynaptic action upon primary afferent terminals.