Abstract

Background: Dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cell bodies mediate the transmission of sensation from the periphery. They,are unipolar in nature and enveloped by the satellite glial cells (SGCs). SCs have been reported to influence neuronal,excitability via gap junctions. DRG cell bodies are classified upon cell size into small, medium, and large categories. This,classification seems to be appropriate because the size of neuronal cell bodies determine their function as, for example,,small-sized cell bodies preferentially transmit action potentials related to pain and temperature.,
Objective: To correlate different sizes of cell bodies in DRG with Nissl staining and expression of peripherin.,Material and Methods: Male adult Sprague Dawley rats (n = 12) were randomly divided into two equal groups: group I,for morphometric analysis of cell bodies after Nissl stain and group II (n = 6) for immunohistochemical study after staining,with peripherin antibody.,
Results: DRG cell bodies of right lumbar 4 level spinal nerves were classified into small to medium (10–40 μm) and large,(>40 μm) depending upon the maximum diameter of the cell bodies using Nissl stain. Adjacent sections were stained with,peripherin. Peripherin expression was noted in small- to medium-sized cell bodies (10–40 μm). Correlation between these,two groups showed that cell bodies in the DRG can be classified into (1) small to medium (10–40 μm) and (2) large (more,than 40 μm) categories.,Conclusion: Expression of peripherin by small to medium sized neuronscan provide additional guidelines for classifying,DRG neurons. This could help in eletrophysiological assessment of neurons, depending upon various parameters.