Description
This study was undertaken to locate and characterise the neurons in the central nervous system that project to the kidney. A retrograde transsynaptic viral tracer was injected into the kidney of rats and traced through the neuraxis to locate these neurons. The results show that a polysynaptic neural pathway extends from multiple forebrain sites including several novel autonomic sites, and projects successively through the brainstem, spinal cord and peripheral ganglia en route to the kidney. This pathway is activated in response to stimuli associated with the regulation of body fluid balance. Both classical amino acid transmitters, and neuropeptides likely mediate these effects. This work lays the foundation for potential therapeutics in the treatment conditions of renal failure in which the central circuitry projecting to the renal nerves is compromised. David Sly, PE is a globally recognized expert in the design of Manufacturing Process Engineering and Factory Design tools and techniques. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Iowa State University. David is president of Proplanner.COM, and an adjunct faculty member at Iowa State University.
