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Intraintestinal capsaicin transiently reduces CGRP-like immunoreactivity in rat submucosal plexus.

Intraintestinal infusion of the sensory neurotoxin, capsaicin, transiently abolishes behavioral responses to chemical stimulation of the intestine. This desensitizing action of capsaicin may be due to an action on CGRP-containing nerve terminals, which are postulated to serve a sensory function in the enteric plexuses. To determine whether intraintestinal capsaicin treatment alters CGRP-like immunoreactivity (CGRP-li) in the enteric plexuses, we performed immunohistochemical analyses of the small intestinal submucosal and myenteric plexuses of rats at various times after intestinal infusion of capsaicin (5 mg) or its vehicle. Intestinal capsaicin treatment, but not vehicle treatment, reduced CGRP-li, but not substance-P-like immunoreactivity (SP-li), in nerve fibers of the submucosal plexus. CGRP-li was reduced in submucosal interganglionic connectives and in nerve fibers associated with submucosal blood vessels. CGRP-li of submucosal connectives was reduced by 1 h post-infusion. Reduction of CGRP-li in the submucosal fibers also was pronounced 24 h after intraintestinal capsaicin treatment. By 48 h after intestinal capsaicin infusion, CGRP-li was not distinguishable from vehicle-treated animals. There were no consistent immunohistochemical changes in CGRP-li or SP-li in the myenteric plexus at any time. These results indicate that intestinal capsaicin selectively induces transient reduction of CGRP-li in nerve fibers of the submucosal plexus. The chronology of depletion and reappearance of CGRP-li is congruent with previously reported, transient impairment of sensory function observed following intestinal capsaicin infusion.

Animals↗

Changes in adrenergic and peptidergic nerves in the submucous plexus of streptozocin-diabetic rat ileum.

The effect of streptozocin diabetes on the distribution of adrenergic and peptidergic nerves in the submucous plexus of rat ileum was investigated and compared with the changes in the myenteric plexus of the same region of ileum. There was an increase in the intensity of immunoreactivity in vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- and neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactive nerve fibers and neurons and a decrease in calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity but no change in substance P- and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity in the nerve fibers and neurons of the submucous plexus of both 8- and 16-wk streptozocin-diabetic rat ileum. However, in the myenteric plexus of the diabetic rat ileum, there was enlargement of varicosities and an increase followed by a slight decrease in the intensity of immunoreactivity of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- and dopamine beta-hydroxylase-like immunoreactive nerve fibers and neurons, increased substance P-like immunoreactivity in diabetes at 16 wk, and an initial decrease (at 8 wk) followed by a recovery of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity at 16 wk, but no change in neuropeptide Y-like immunoreactivity. The markedly different changes in peptidergic and adrenergic nerves between the two enteric plexuses show that diabetic neuropathy induced by streptozocin is not selective and involves factors other than neurotransmitter types.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

Functions of peripheral 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors, especially 5-hydroxytryptamine4 receptor, in gastrointestinal motility.

The multiple 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) receptor subtypes are distinguished. In this article, we described mainly the 5-HT4 receptor of four subtypes of functional 5-HT receptors, 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3, and 5-HT4, recognized in the gastrointestinal tract. In-vivo microdialysis experiments determined that activation of the 5-HT4 receptor stimulated intestinal motor activity associated with a local increase in acetylcholine (ACh) release from the intestinal cholinergic neurons in the whole body of dogs. The 5-HT4 receptor-mediated response of ACh release in the antral, corporal, and fundic strips isolated from guinea pig stomach corresponds to the presence of 5-HT4 receptor in the myenteric plexus. In-vitro receptor autoradiograms of the stomach and colon indicate that the distribution of 5-HT4 receptors in human tissues is similar to that in the guinea pig, although density of 5-HT4 receptors in the myenteric plexus of human tissues is lower than that in guinea pig tissues. The 5-HT4 receptors located in the myenteric plexus may participate in gastrointestinal motility, and thus the 5-HT4 agonists and antagonists may be available for treatment of dysfunction of gastrointestinal motility.

Animals↗

Identification and stimulation by serotonin of intrinsic sensory neurons of the submucosal plexus of the guinea pig gut: activity-induced expression of Fos immunoreactivity.

The bowel is the only organ of the body in which neural reflexes can be elicited in the absence of input from the brain or spinal cord. This activity is mediated by the enteric nervous system (ENS), which contains primary afferent neurons. Experiments were carried out to locate the primary afferent neurons of the ENS. Two types of stimulation were used to activate neurons in the wall of the gut in vitro: exposure of the mucosa to cholera toxin or delivery of pressure to the mucosal surface with puffs of N2 from a micropipette. Neurons that became active in response to these stimuli were identified by demonstrating the intranuclear immunoreactivity of Fos, the product of the c-fos protooncogene. No Fos immunoreactivity could be detected in the absence of stimulation; however, application of cholera toxin and puffs of N2 each induced the appearance of Fos immunoreactivity in neurons in both the submucosal and myenteric plexuses. With either stimulus, the induction of Fos immunoreactivity was antagonized by TTX and therefore depended on neuronal activity. The appearance of Fos immunoreactivity could also be prevented by the 5-HT1P receptor antagonist N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptophyl-5-hydroxytryptophan amide. In contrast, the stimulus-induced expression of Fos immunoreactivity was inhibited, but not abolished, by hexamethonium, which limited the spread of activation within the submucosal plexus and completely prevented expression of Fos immunoreactivity by myenteric neurons in response to mucosal puffs of N2. FluoroGold was injected into single ganglia of the myenteric plexus in order to identify submucosal neurons with myenteric projections. Submucosal neurons in which Fos immunoreactivity was induced by the stimuli were doubly labeled by FluoroGold. A subset of the submucosal, but not myenteric, neurons that expressed Fos immunoreactivity was doubly labeled by antibodies to calbindin. Submucosal calbindin-immunoreactive neurons were found to contain substance P immunoreactivity and could also be immunostained by anti-idiotypic antibodies that react with 5-HT1P receptors. A subset of dynorphin1-8-immunoreactive submucosal neurons (which are known to costore vasoactive intestinal peptide and to be secretomotor in function) expressed nuclear Fos immunoreactivity in response to cholera toxin, but not puffs of N2. These data suggest that intrinsic primary afferent neurons are located in the submucosal plexus, project to the myenteric plexus, and are activated by 5-HT acting on the 5-HT1P receptor subtype. These neurons are probably cholinergic and costore calbindin and substance P.

Animals↗

Severe gastrointestinal dysmotility in a patient with congenital myopathy: causal relationship to decrease of interstitial cells of Cajal.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are known to be essential regulators of gastrointestinal (GI) motility. Here, we report the clinical course and abnormalities of intestinal ICC distribution in a 5-year-old patient with congenital fiber type disproportion myopathy who demonstrated long-term GI dismotility. Full thickness biopsies of the small intestine and colon showed a normal enteric muscle layer and myenteric plexus. However, the density of ICC was strikingly decreased around the myenteric plexus compared to that in autopsied cases without GI tract disease. These findings suggest that a decline in ICC may contribute to disturbed GI motility in our patient with congenital myopathy.

Child, Preschool↗

Internal anal sphincter response after electrical stimulation of the rectal myenteric nerve plexus in the rabbit.

The internal anal sphincter response to electrical stimulation of the rectal mucosa was studied in six rabbits. The anal canal was dissected free and then opened with an anterior, longitudinal incision to yield a flat sphincter preparation. After the external sphincter had been paralysed, isometric recordings of internal sphincter activity were performed. Electrical stimulation applied to the rectal mucosa elicited sphincter relaxations in all rabbits. Division of the gut beneath the point of stimulation blocked the response, as did local submucous anaesthesia. The results show (1) that electrical stimulation of the rectum can elicit internal sphincter relaxation, and (2) that the response is mediated via the myenteric and submucosal nerve plexuses.

Anal Canal↗

Ejaculatory abnormalities in mice with targeted disruption of the gene for heme oxygenase-2.

Nitric oxide (NO) is well established as a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous systems. More recently, another gas, carbon monoxide (CO) has also been implicated in neurotransmission. In the nervous system CO is formed by a subtype of heme oxygenase (HO) designated HO2. HO2 is localized to discrete neuronal populations in the brain resembling localizations of soluble guanylyl cyclase, which is activated by CO. CO may also function in the peripheral autonomic nervous system, in conjunction with NO. The majority of ganglia in the myenteric plexus possess both HO2 and neuronal NO synthase (NOS). Defects in myenteric plexus neurotransmission occur both in mice with targeted deletion of genes for HO2 and neuronal NOS. HO2 also occurs in other autonomic ganglia including the petrosal, superior cervical and nodose ganglia. Neuronal NOS is localized to neurons regulating male reproductive behavior, such as penile erection, and NOS inhibitors prevent erection. Because of the other parallels between NO and CO, we speculated that CO may play a role in male reproductive behavior. In the present study we describe HO2 localization in neuronal structures regulating copulatory reflexes. Reflex activity of the bulbospongiosus muscle, which mediates ejaculation and ejaculatory behavior, is markedly diminished in mice with targeted deletion of the gene for HO2 (HO2-).

Animals↗

c-kit-dependent development of interstitial cells and electrical activity in the murine gastrointestinal tract.

In vivo injection of a neutralizing, monoclonal antibody (ACK2) to the receptor tyrosine kinase (c-kit) disrupts the normal motility patterns of the mouse small intestine. Immunohistochemical studies showed that cells expressing c-kit-like immunoreactivity (c-kit-LI) decreased in numbers in response to ACK2, but the identity of these cells is unknown. We investigated the identity and development of the cells that express c-kit-LI in the mouse small intestine and colon. Cells in the region of the myenteric plexus and deep muscular plexus of the small intestine and in the subserosa, in the myenteric plexus region, within the circular and longitudinal muscle layers, and along the submucosal surface of the circular muscle in the colon were labeled with ACK2. The distribution of cells that express c-kit-LI was the same as that of interstitial cells (ICs). In whole-mount preparations cells with c-kit-LI were interconnected, forming a network similar to the network formed by cells that stained with methylene blue, which has been used as a marker for ICs in the mouse gastrointestinal tract. Immunocytochemistry verified that ICs were labeled with ACK2. Multiple injections of animals with ACK2 between days 0 and 8 post partum (pp) caused a dramatic reduction in the number of ICs compared to control animals. From an ultrastructural point of view, the proliferation and development appeared to be suppressed in some classes of ICs, while others displayed an altered course of development. Functional studies showed that the decrease in ICs was accompanied by a loss of electrical rhythmicity in the small intestine and reduced neural responses in the small bowel and colon. Morphological experiments showed that c-kit-positive cells are ICs, and physiological evidence reinforced the concept that ICs are involved in generation of rhythmicity and translation of neural inputs in gastrointestinal smooth muscles. Controlling the development of ICs provides a powerful new tool for the investigation of the physiological role of these cells.

Animals↗

Enteric plexus and interstitial cells of Cajal: interrelationship in the stomach of Podarcis hispanica (Reptilia). An ultrastructural study.

The ultrastructure organization of the stomach enteric plexus was examined in the lizard Podarcis hispanica. The ganglions of the myenteric plexus present a low number of nerve cell bodies with a peculiar nucleus, which occasionally establish direct contacts with cells of the circular muscle layer. Glial cells are smaller than the neurones, and their nucleus is very electron-dense. They surround the axons that constitute the fibres of the myenteric plexus. Four main types of axon profile are described in a morphological consideration of the vesicle population. In the interstice of the circular muscle layer we describe two types of interstitial cells that, due to their ultrastructural characteristics, may be equivalent to the interstitial cells of Cajal which have been described in mammalians. These cells shows parallel distribution to the stomach nerve plexuses, establishing close contacts with them through their long cytoplasmic prolongations. By means of small gap-like unions, they contact both each other and the smooth muscle cells near them. We describe a submucous plexus, where neuronal bodies are scattered among bundles of nervous fibres, some of which are myelinated. A mucous plexus with isolated neurones is located in the lamina propria. Axonal varicosities containing vesicles contact with the cells of the mucous. Interconnected interstitial cells may also be found in this plexus.

Animals↗

Simultaneous labeling of vagal innervation of the gut and afferent projections from the visceral forebrain with dil injected into the dorsal vagal complex in the rat.

The vagal innervation of the different layers of the rat gastrointestinal wall was identified with the fluorescent carbocyanine dye Dil, injected into the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (dmnX). Multiple, bilateral injections were used to label all dmnX preganglionic motoneurons, and as a consequence, most of the vagal primary afferents that terminate in the adjacent nucleus of the solitary tract (nts) were also retrogradely and transganglionically labeled. With Fluorogold used to label the enteric nervous system completely and specifically, the Dil-labeled vagal profiles could be visualized and quantified in their anatomical relation to the neurons of the myenteric and submucous ganglia. In the myenteric plexus, vagal fibers and terminals were found throughout the gastrointestinal tract as far caudal as the descending colon, but there was a general decreasing proximodistal gradient in the density of vagal innervation. All parts of the gastric myenteric plexus (fundus, corpus, antrum), as well as the proximal duodenum, were extremely densely innervated, with vagal fibers and terminals in virtually every ganglion and connective. Further caudally, both the percentage of innervated myenteric ganglia and the average density of label within the ganglia rapidly decreased, with the exception of the cecum and proximal colon, where up to 65% of the ganglia were innervated. In the gastric and duodenal submucosa very few and in the mucosa no vagal fibers and terminals were found. With both normal epifluorescence and laser scanning confocal microscopy, highly varicose or beaded terminal structures of various size and geometry could be identified. The Dil injections, which impregnated the dmnX as well as the adjacent nts, resulted in retrograde and anterograde labeling of all the previously reported forebrain connections with the dorsal vagal complex. We conclude that the myenteric plexus is the primary target of vagal innervation throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and that its innervation is more complete than previously assumed. In contrast, vagal afferent (and efferent) innervation of mucosa and submucosa seems conspicuously sparse or absent. Furthermore, the use of more focal injections of Dil offers the prospect to simultaneously identify specific subsets of vagal preganglionics and their central nervous inputs.

Animals↗

A quantitative study of the morphological and histochemical changes within the nerves and muscle in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to quantify changes in dimensions of nerves and muscle and the proportionate expression of neural antigens in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS). METHODS: Twenty specimens of pylorus from children with IHPS and age/sex-matched controls were examined using conventional histology and immunohistochemistry for a range of nerve and muscle antigens. The changes in the proportion of nerves expressing each antigen were quantified and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The longitudinal muscle was found to be hypertrophic and protein gene product 9.5-stained nerves appeared longer and thicker in the myenteric plexus and shorter in the longitudinal muscle layer in IHPS. The proportion of nerves that expressed neural nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) was found to be diminished in all the IHPS tissues examined. In the circular muscle and myenteric plexus, the proportion of nerves that expressed vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and nNOS was almost identically diminished. The expression of calcitonin gene-related polypeptide and substance P was proportionately reduced in the myenteric plexus. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study represent the first quantitative analysis of nerves and muscle in IHPS. The muscle hypertrophy is not restricted to circular muscle layer. The changes in nerve morphology cannot be attributed to a dilutional effect of the muscle hypertrophy. The selective changes in nerve and ganglion morphology varies between tissue layers and neural antigen expressed. The findings of reduced proportions of nerves expressing, in particular, nNOS may shed some light on the etiology of this condition.

Antigens↗

Differential distribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptor in the colon between human and guinea pig.

Localization of 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) receptor in the human colon was examined by in vitro receptor autoradiography using [125I](S)iodozacopride, and compared with that in the guinea pig colon. [125I](S)iodozacopride binding sites were found with high densities around the myenteric plexus, but with low ones in the muscle layer and mucosa of the human colon, and the binding was abolished by granisetron, a specific 5-HT3 receptor antagonist. While in the guinea pig colon, specific [125I](S) iodozacopride binding was not detected in either the myenteric plexus or the muscle layers. Thus, the 5-HT3 receptors are present in the human colon, especially densely located in the myenteric plexus, but not in the guinea pig colon, and those may participate in the colonic motility. The results of functional studies of 5-HT3 receptor obtained from experiments using guinea pig are not always applying to the human.

Animals↗

Projections of nitric oxide synthase- and peptide-containing neurons in the small and large intestines of the toad (Bufo marinus).

The projections of galanin (GAL)- and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-immunoreactive (IR) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-containing neurons in the small and large intestines of the amphibian Bufo marinus were investigated by their reactions to surgical interruption (myotomy). In the small intestine, myotomy caused accumulation of GAL- and VIP-IR and of NADPH diaphorase reaction product (revealing NOS) in cut axons on the oral side of the operation site. On the anal side there was loss of GAL-IR axons from the circular muscle and myenteric plexus and long, anally directed processes could be traced from GAL-IR nerve cell bodies. There was no significant loss of VIP-IR or NADPH diaphorase from nerve fibres in the myenteric plexus or circular muscle layer, although anally-directed axons could be traced from nerve cell bodies on the anal side of the operation sites. In the large intestine, myotomy caused accumulation of VIP-IR and of NADPH diaphorase reaction product in cut axons on the oral side of the operation site. Anal to the cut, although there was no significant loss of these fibres from the muscle or myenteric plexus, anally directed axons could be traced from nerve cell bodies. GAL-IR fibres in the large intestine are of two types: a few contain GAL-IR alone and are thought to arise from enteric neurons; many contain both GAL- and SOM-IR and are thought to arise from nerve cell bodies in the hindgut. Myotomy caused an accumulation of GAL/SOM-IR material in fibres on the anal side of the cut and a substantial decrease in the number of fibres on the oral side. There was no detectable effect of myotomy on the GAL-IR fibres, although an abnormally high density of GAL-IR nerve cell bodies was found oral to the cut. These results indicate that VIP-IR and NOS-containing enteric neurons project in an oral to anal direction in the toad small and large intestines. Some of the neurons have short anal projections to the circular muscle. GAL-IR enteric neurons have similar projections in the small intestine, but their projections could not be determined in the large intestine. GAL/SOM-IR axons in the large intestine project from anal to oral. Myotomy in the large intestine appears to induce an increased or de novo expression of GAL-IR in enteric neurons oral to the cut.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

Involvement of endogenous nitric oxide and c-kit-expressing cells in chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIP) in infants and children is a motility disorder without apparent mechanical cause. Nitric oxide (NO), an inhibitory neurotransmitter and c-kit cells, essential for the intestinal pacemaker activity, both play a key role in the intestinal motility function. In the current study, the authors investigated the distributive change in the intestinal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and c-kit cells of patients with CIP. METHODS: Tissues were obtained from 4 patients undergoing bowel resection or biopsy for CIP at laparotomy. For controls, the intestinal specimens were obtained from 4 age-matched cases of intestinal stricture, intussusception, and autopsy with no evidence of gastrointestinal disease. Immunohistochemical studies were performed on paraffin-embedded tissue cross sections with neuronal NOS and inducible NOS monoclonal antibody as well as a rabbit polyclonal antibody against the human c-kit receptor. RESULTS: Under immunohistochemical staining, a greatly increased density of neuronal NOS immunoreactivity and an evidently increased number of intense NOS immunoreactive nerve fibers were observed in the myenteric plexus and circular muscle layers compared with the control sections. In the submucosal plexus and longitudinal muscle layer, there was no change in NOS immunoreactivity. Inducible NOS immunoreactivity was not detected in the control cases. However, in tissues of CIP, almost all the epithelial cells were positively and strongly labeled for inducible NOS immunoreactivity. For c-kit cells staining, the number of c-kit-positive cells in the myenteric plexus and circular muscle layers were greatly less than that in the controls, especially in the myenteric plexus region. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that sustained production of NO by an increased NOS activity and a deficiency of c-kit cells in the intestine may be related to the pathogenesis of CIP.

Chronic Disease↗

Schistosoma mansoni infection causing diffuse enteric inflammation and damage of the enteric nervous system in the mouse small intestine.

Schistosomiasis mansoni is a major health problem, mainly occurring in developing countries. A large proportion of infected individuals suffers from motility-related gastrointestinal problems. In the present study, the diffuse inflammatory response in the small bowel wall, as compared to the egg-induced granulomatous inflammation, was investigated. For this purpose, OF1 mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni 8-16 weeks prior to the experiment, and uninfected control mice were studied. The ileum showed both a diffuse mucosal inflammation as well as a granulomatous reaction. The diffuse mucosal inflammation caused an increase in the thickness of the mucosa, with blunting of the villi. A significant, transient increase of thickness of the muscularis propria after 12 weeks of infection was noted. There was an infection-related mast cell infiltrate in the muscularis propria, consisting of formalin fixation-insensitive connective tissue mast cells. Ganglionitis of the myenteric plexus was noted. Rarely, ganglia of the myenteric plexus contained apoptotic cells. A general pharmacological set of experiments showed a significant increase in intestinal contractility, both to exogenously administered, as well as to endogenously released neurotransmitters. Our results demonstrate that S. mansoni infection in the mouse ileum leads to diffuse specific enteric inflammation that is associated with an enhanced response to contractile agents.

Animals↗

Enhancement of the intrinsic defecation reflex by mosapride, a 5-HT4 agonist, in chronically lumbosacral denervated guinea pigs.

The defecation reflex is composed of rectal distension-evoked rectal (R-R) reflex contractions and synchronous internal anal sphincter (R-IAS) reflex relaxations in guinea pigs. These R-R and R-IAS reflexes are controlled via extrinsic sacral excitatory nerve pathway (pelvic nerves), lumbar inhibitory nerve pathways (colonic nerves) and by intrinsic cholinergic excitatory and nitrergic inhibitory nerve pathways. The effect of mosapride (a prokinetic benzamide) on the intrinsic reflexes, mediated via enteric 5-HT(4) receptors, was evaluated by measuring the mechanical activity of the rectum and IAS in anesthetized guinea pigs using an intrinsic R-R and R-IAS reflex model resulting from chronic (two to nine days) lumbosacral denervation (PITH). In this model, the myenteric plexus remains undamaged and the distribution of myenteric and intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal is unchanged. Although R-R and R-IAS reflex patterns markedly changed, the reflex indices (reflex pressure or force curve-time integral) of both the R-R contractions and the synchronous R-IAS relaxations were unchanged. The frequency of the spontaneous R and IAS motility was also unchanged. Mosapride (0.1-1.0 mg/kg) dose-dependently increased both intrinsic R-R (maximum: 1.82) and R-IAS reflex indices (maximum: 2.76) from that of the control (1.0) 6-9 days following chronic PITH. The dose-response curve was similar to that in the intact guinea pig, and had shifted to the left from that in the guinea pig after acute PITH. A specific 5-HT(4) receptor antagonist, GR 113808 (1.0 mg/kg), decreased both reflex indices by approximately 50% and antagonized the effect of mosapride 1.0 mg/kg. This was quite different from the result in the intact guinea pig where GR 113808 (1.0 mg/kg) did not affect either of the reflex indices. The present results indicate that mosapride enhanced the intrinsic R-R and R-IAS reflexes and functionally compensated for the deprivation of extrinsic innervation. The actions of mosapride were mediated through endogenously active, intrinsic 5-HT(4) receptors which may be post-synaptically located in the myenteric plexus of the anorectum.

Anal Canal↗