Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2006
Capstone Advisor
Adam Pack
Honors Reader
Lorraine Pawson
Capstone Major
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering
Capstone College
Engineering and Computer Science
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Sciences and Engineering
Subject Categories
Biological Engineering | Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering | Engineering
Abstract
Pacinian Corpuscles (PCs) are somatosensory mechanoreceptors, composed of a central neurite, surrounded by layers of lamellae that make up the inner core, which are specialized glial cells, and fibroblast derived outer-core lamellae of the surrounding capsule. Several components specific to a chemical synapse (Vglut1, Vamp1, SNAP-23) were localized to both the neurite and the inner-core cells in feline mesenteric PCs using immunocytochemistry. However, it has long been postulated that the first synapse of the PC occurs at the dorsal column nuclei, or spinal cord, and that no classical synapse is present in the distal ending of the capsulated receptor. While the historical interpretation of the function of glia has been that they provide support to the nervous system, recent evidence has shown that there is signaling occurring between glia and nerve cells. Thus, we believe that this glutamate-mediated synapse-like activity may play a modulatory role in the mechanotransductive process.
To obtain a secondary confirmation of this finding, RT-PCR testing is planned. Consensus sequences were developed based on the homologous mRNA for humans, rats, and mice and used to develop primers for PCR and RT-PCR on the feline PCs. Initial results confirm the functionality of the primers when using a DNA template. The primers are currently being optimized to determine ideal conditions that would increase the PCR yields before performing the RT-PCR.
The functionality of the primers suggests that the reactivity of the antibodies used in the ICC is accurate and not cross-reactivity due to the use of a consensus sequence for primer development and not the feline genome.
Recommended Citation
Kopko, Kevin, "Possibilities of Glutamate-Mediated Synaptic Like Activity In Somatosensory Mechanoreceptors Such As Pacinian Corpuscles?" (2006). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 620.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/620
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
