Fig. 2.

PACAP38 and PACAP27 immunoreactivities are expressed endogenously by SCGs neurons. Individual adult and neonatal (postnatal day 1) rat SCG were extracted for peptide level analysis. Dissociated SCG neurons, plated at an initial density of 1.5 × 10⁴ cells/cm² into 16 mm dishes (2 cm²), were cultured in defined medium for 9 d and harvested for assay. Endogenous pro-PACAP peptide levels were determined by radioimmunoassay using antisera specific for PACAP38 (open bar) or PACAP27 (filled bar). Data represent the mean femtomoles of PACAP immunoreactivity per ganglion or ganglion equivalent (26,000 cultured neurons) ± SEM (n = 10–12 for each preparation and peptide).