Choline acetyl transferase and neuropeptide immunoreactivities are colocalized in somata, but preferentially localized in distinct axon fibers and boutons of cat sympathetic preganglionic neurons.

Cholinergic sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN) coexpress the biosynthetic enzyme for acetylcholine, choline acetyl-transferase (ChAT), and neuropeptides such as enkephalin (ENK) in their cell bodies. However, it is not clear whether they also coexpress ChAT and neuropeptides in axon fibers and boutons. To explore coexpression of ChAT and neuropeptides in somata and axon processes of SPN, we investigated, using immunohistochemistry, retrograde labeling, confocal analysis, and tridimensional reconstruction, whether ChAT and the peptides neurotensin, methionine-ENK, somatostatin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, and vasoactive intestinal peptide colocalize in somata, axons fibers, and boutons of cat SPN. Practically, complete colocalization for these peptides and ChAT was observed in SPN somata. Conversely, in most instances we observed independent localization of immunoreactivity (IR) for ChAT and the peptides in axon fibers and boutons. The minor colocalization between ChAT- and peptide-IR in preganglionic fibers could correspond to a sequential axonal transport of ChAT and peptides, since we observed coexistence of these transmitters after blocking axonal transport. Contrary to Dale's principle, our results suggest that SPN can synthesize ChAT and peptides in their cell bodies and route them to distinct axon boutons or terminals in sympathetic ganglia. Presence of axon boutons containing either ChAT or neuropeptides lead us to suggest a new neurochemical pattern of cotransmission in sympathetic ganglia based on the concurrent release of transmitters and cotransmitters from distinct presynaptic boutons, rather than in the corelease of these mediators from the same axon process. The possibility that cellular segregation could be transient and depend on functional requirements is considered. Copyright (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.