Quantitative histochemical and microchemical changes in the adult mouse central nervous system after section of the infraorbital and optic nerves

The sensory projections from the whiskers of mice and other rodents synapse somatotopically in 3 subnuclei in the brainstem trigeminal complex, in the ventrobasal complex of the thalamus and in the somatosensory cortex. Deafferentation of the whiskers in adult animals results in qualitative and quantitative changes in activities of the metabolic enzymes in the somatosensory cortex (e.g. J. Neurosci., 1 (1981) 929–935). We determined the time course and extent of changes in the subcortical trigeminal centers of adult mice after deafferentation. The right infraorbital nerve was sectioned in mice under surgical anesthesia; the animals survived for periods up to 26 weeks. The optic nerve was also cut to evaluate the effects of central tract section. Some brains were prepared histochemically for the mitochondrial enzymes cytochrome oxidase (CO) and succinic dehydrogenase (SDH), and some were prepared for microchemical analysis of the enzymes citrate synthase (CS), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and phosphorylase. All deafferented and intact nuclei were examined in each animal quantitatively. The oxidative enzymes (CO, SDH, CS and MDH) that were analyzed by histochemical and microchemical approaches showed a decrease in activities as early as 3 weeks postdeafferentation, a trend that continued up to 12 weeks in all the subcortical trigeminal stations and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) when compared with the intact side. By 25 weeks postlesion, the levels were comparable to the intact side except that in the LGN, the levels remained depressed. The phosphorylase levels increased at around 3 weeks postoperation and remained elevated 25 weeks postlesion. Each case provided results on the effects of deafferentation at a given time point throughout the trigeminal pathway. Direct quantitative correlation of histochemical and microchemical approaches for glycolytic enzymes is consistent with a coordinate regulation of these molecules. The changes in enzyme levels in all nuclei occur simultaneously and to a similar degree. This strongly suggests that neuronal activity plays an important role in regulating metabolic machinery throughout this pathway in adults.