Cholinergic, nitric oxidergic innervation in cerebral arteries of the cat

Using immunoperoxidase labeling (IPL) and immunofluorescence labeling (IFL) methods, and each followed by NADPH diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemical staining in the same specimen, colocalization of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and NADPHd, indicative of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), in cerebral pial arteries and the sphenopalatine ganglia (SPG) of the cat was examined. In addition, retrograde axonal tracing using true blue was performed to determine if cerebral perivascular nerves containing ChAT and NADPHd originate in the SPG. Consistent results were obtained from IPL and IFL methods, indicating that the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and the circle of Willis received dense ChAT-immunoreactive (I) and NADPHd bundles and fine fibers. Almost all ChAT-I fibers and NADPHd fibers were found to be coincident in the arteries examined. A few fine fibers exhibited only NADPHd staining. In the SPG, approximately half of the ganglionic cells were both ChAT-I and NADPHd positive, while the remaining cells were positively only for NADPHd staining. One week after application of true blue on the middle cerebral arteries (MCA), the fluorescent true blue was found in the ganglionic cells of the SPG. Some of the true blue-positive cells contained both ChAT-immunoreactivity and NADPHd staining. These results provide morphological evidence indicating that all ChAT-I fibers in the MCA and the circle of Willis contain NOS, and that these fibers originate in the SPG, although not all NOS-I ganglionic cells in the SPG send fibers to pial vessels. These results also support the hypothesis that acetylcholine (ACh) and nitric oxide (NO) are synthesized and co-released in the same neurons in cerebral perivascular nerves. Based on the reported findings that NO mediates a major component of neurogenic vasodilation, and that ACh acts as a modulator, the present results demonstrate the presence of a cholinergic, nitric oxidergic innervation in cerebral arteries of the cat.