Maldevelopment Of Spinal Cord--Substance P In Spina Bifida.

Abstract

Recent Works Have Shown That The Neuropeptide, Substance P, Is An Important Element Of The Central Nervous System, Functioning As A Neurotransmitter As Well As Moderating Neural Development. In A Previous Communication, We Provided Indirect Evidence That Substance P Played A Role In The Pathogenesis And Pathophysiology Of Spina Bifida By Showing An Elevation Of Csf Substance P Concentrations In Affected Foetuses And Babies. In This Study, We Investigated Directly The Occurrence Of Substance P In Spinal Cord Tissues In Spina Bifida And Compared It To That Found During Normal Development. Using Radioimmunoassay, Concentrations Of Substance P Were Measured In The Spinal Cords Of 20 Normal Human Foetuses (Aged 9-21 Weeks) And 4 Foetuses With Spina Bifida (Aged 17-19 Weeks). Substance P Was Detected In Substantial Amounts In The Normal Foetal Spinal Cord As Early As 9 Weeks' Gestation, And There Was Progressive Accumulation With Age: Mean Concentrations +/- S.E.M. In 3 Subgroups Were 56.3 +/- 4.9 Pmol G-1 (9-12 Weeks), 59.5 +/- 7.2 Pmol G-1 (13-16 Weeks) And 117.3 +/- 7.2 Pmol G-1 (17-21 Weeks). In Spina Bifida, Substance P Was Severely Depleted In The Dysraphic Segment Of The Cord (Mean Concentration +/- S.E.M. = 22.1 +/- 2.3 Pmol G-1) And Moderately So In The Segment Above The Dysraphism (Mean Concentration +/- S.E.M. = 47.2 +/- 4.2 Pmol G-1).(Abstract Truncated At 250 Words)