Transganglionic regulation and fine structural localization of lectin-reactive carbohydrate epitopes in primary sensory neurons of the rat.

Light- and electron microscopic lectin histochemical studies showed that small dorsal root ganglion cells of the rat projecting to substantia gelatinosa Rolandi (Lamina II) contain terminal alpha-D-galactose carbohydrate epitopes; while those projecting to Waldeyer's marginal zone (Lamina I) and the outer part of Lamina II contain terminal beta-D-galactose residues. These glycoconjugates are manufactured in the Golgi apparatus and transported to preterminal and terminal axoplasmic surface membranes. Both of the axolemmal carbohydrate moieties were shown to be subjected to transganglionic regulation, even though the effects of transganglionic degenerative atrophy become evident considerably later than the depletion of axoplasmic marker substances like fluoride resistant acid phosphatase and thiamine monophosphatase.