Visualizing the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Immunoreactive Innervation of the Rat Cranial Dura Mater with Immunofluorescence and Neural Tracing

Summary

Here we present a protocol to visualize spatial correlation of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-immunoreactive nerve fibers and blood vessels in the cranial dura mater using immunofluorescence and fluorescent histochemistry with CGRP and phalloidin, respectively. In addition, the origin of these nerve fibers was retrograde traced with a fluorescent neural tracer.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the distribution and origin of the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-immunoreactive sensory nerve fibers of the cranial dura mater using immunofluorescence, three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and retrograde tracing technique. Here, the nerve fibers and blood vessels were stained using immunofluorescence and histochemistry techniques with CGRP and fluorescent phalloidin, respectively. The spatial correlation of dural CGRP-immuoreactive nerve fibers and blood vessels were demonstrated by 3D reconstruction. Meanwhile, the origin of the CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers were detected by neural tracing technique with fluorogold (FG) from the area around middle meningeal artery (MMA) in the cranial dura mater to the trigeminal ganglion (TG) and cervical (C) dorsal root ganglia (DRGs). In addition, the chemical characteristics of FG-labeled neurons in the TG and DRGs were also examined together with CGRP using double immunofluorescences. Taking advantage of the transparent whole-mount sample and 3D reconstruction, it was shown that CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers and phalloidin-labeled arterioles run together or separately forming a dural neurovascular network in a 3D view, while the FG-labeled neurons were found in the ophthalmic, maxillary, and mandibular branches of TG, as well as the C2-3 DRGs ipsilateral to the side of tracer application in which some of FG-labeled neurons presented with CGRP-immunoreactive expression. With these approaches, we demonstrated the distributional characteristics of CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers around the blood vessels in the cranial dura mater, as well as the origin of these nerve fibers from TG and DRGs. From the perspective of methodology, it may provide a valuable reference for understanding the complicated neurovascular structure of the cranial dura mater under the physiological or pathological condition.

Introduction

The cranial dura mater is the outermost layer of meninges to protect the brain and contains plentiful blood vessels and different kinds of nerve fibers^1,2. Many studies have shown that sensitized cranial dura mater may be the key factor leading to the occurrence of headaches, involving the abnormal vasodilation and innervation^3,4,5. Thus, the knowledge of neurovascular structure in the cranial dura mater is important for understanding the pathogenesis of headaches, especially for migraine.

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Protocol

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (reference number D2018-09-29-1). All procedures were conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1996). Twelve adult Sprague-Dawley male rats (weight 220 ± 20 g) were used in this study. Animals [license number SCXK (JING) 2017-0005] were provided by the National Instit.......

Discussion

In this study, we have successfully demonstrated the distribution and the origin of CGRP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the cranial dura mater using immunofluorescence, 3D reconstruction and neural tracing approaches with CGRP antibody and FG neural tracer, providing the histological and chemical evidences to better understand the dural neurovascular network.

As it was known, CGRP plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of migraine^4,17

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Alexa Fluor 488 donkey anti-mouse IgG (H+L)	Invitrogen by Thermo Fisher Scientific	A21202	Protect from light; RRID: AB_141607
Brain stereotaxis instrument	Narishige	SR-50
CellSens Dimension	Olympus	Version 1.1	Software of fluorescent microscope
Confocal imaging system	Olympus	FV1200
Fluorogold (FG)	Fluorochrome	52-9400	Protect from light
Fluorescent imaging system	Olympus	BX53
Freezing microtome	Thermo	Microm International GmbH
Olympus FV10-ASW 4.2a	Olympus	Version 4.2	Confocal image processing software system
Micro Drill	Saeyang Microtech	Marathon-N7
Mouse anti-CGRP	Abcam	ab81887	RRID: AB_1658411
Normal donkey serum	Jackson ImmunoResearch	017-000-121
Phalloidin 568	Molecular Probes	A12380	Protect from light
Photoshop and  Illustration	Adobe	CS6	Photo editing software
Rabbit anti- Fluorogold	Abcam	ab153	RRID: AB_90738
Sprague Dawley	National Institutes for Food and Drug Control	SCXK (JING) 2014-0013
Superfrost plus microscope slides	Thermo	#4951PLUS-001	25x75x1mm