Dopamine as trace amine in the dorsal root ganglia.

It has been shown that in the chick dorsal root ganglion (DRG) about 8% of neurons, belonging to both the A and B classes of sensory neurons exhibit a clear dopamine immunoreactivity. In the present study are reported the results of measurements, by mean of HPLC-electrochemical detection (HPLC-ED), of DA and of the DA metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) in the rat DRG and their central nerves. Very low levels of DA, about 10 folds lower than the levels found in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, were found in the DRG. However the levels of DOPAC and HVA were approximately equivalent to the levels found in the cord. The immunocytochemical study performed in parallel has shown that some dopaminergic-immunoreactive fibers in the DRG are located around the blood vessels. Few dopamine-immunoreactive sensory neurons were identified in the DRG and immunoreactive fibers, not linked to blood vessels, were identified in the dorsal root nerves. The present work indicates that there is a dopaminergic innervation of the blood vessels in the rat DRG but that dopamine may also be, as in the chick, a transmitter of primary afferent fibers.