![]() ![]() The human Onuf’s nucleus is located in the ventral horn of the upper sacral segment including S2–S3 and rarely also involving S1 (with an overall length comprised between 4 and 7 mm). Onuf’s nucleus ( Figure 1) has been identified in different locations through the species, similar in the cat, dog, monkey, and man, differently from the rat, Mongolian gerbil, and domestic pig (as reviewed by Gerrits et al., 1997). In 1899, for the first time, the Russian neuroanatomist Bronislaw Onuf (Onufrowicz) identified and described a group of neurons located in the human sacral spinal cord and involved in the innervation of the pelvic floor: he called this formation “nucleus X,” later renamed after him “Onuf’s nucleus.” Altogether, these works can offer the possibility to develop new therapeutic strategies for counteracting neurodegeneration. We summarize here the milestone studies that have contributed to clarifying the nature of Onuf’s neurons and in understanding what makes them either vulnerable or resistant to damage. Moreover, it describes the aging-related pathologies as well as several traumatic and neurodegenerative disorders in which its neurons are involved: indeed, Onuf’s nucleus is affected in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Shy-Drager Syndrome (SDS), whereas it is spared in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The review provides an overview of the histological, biochemical, metabolic, and gene expression peculiarities of Onuf’s nucleus. However, curiously, these neurons also show some autonomic-like features as, for instance, they receive a strong peptidergic innervation. The motor neurons (MNs) of Onuf’s nucleus innervate striated voluntary muscles of the pelvic floor and are histologically and biochemically comparable to the other somatic spinal MNs. Onuf’s nucleus is a small group of neurons located in the ventral horns of the sacral spinal cord. 3National Institute of Neuroscience, Turin, Italy. ![]() ![]() 2Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), University of Turin, Turin, Italy.1Department of Neuroscience Rita Levi Montalcini, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.Roberta Schellino 1,2†, Marina Boido 1,2,3*† and Alessandro Vercelli 1,2,3 ![]()
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