Linked Life Data

9930618

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/9930618

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
1999-3-25
pubmed:abstractText
Nitrergic (NO) neurons play crucial inhibitory roles in the control of gut motility. Variations in the density of these neurons within the gastrointestinal tract (GI) may provide useful functional information, but, most surveys available have employed limited and/or highly localized samples. It remains unclear to what extent (a) NO neurons are concentrated disproportionately in particular GI regions, or (b) variations in NO cell number merely reflect changes in overall myenteric neuron density. This experiment surveyed the distributions of neuronal nitric oxide synthase-positive (NOS+) and other myenteric neurons in the GI tract, using immunohistochemical and Cuprolinic blue counterstaining techniques. Adjustable sampling grids superimposed on wholemounts were used to investigate the topographic patterns in the stomach (90 sampling sites; 45 per side) and proximal duodenum (63 loci). We present four major findings: First, variations were detected in the number of NOS+ neurons in specific regions of the stomach (e.g., corpus > antrum approximately equal to forestomach) and along both longitudinal (oral > anal) and circumferential (mesenteric > antimesenteric) axes in the duodenum. Second, the variations in NOS+ neuronal counts within each organ covaried with the total number of myenteric neurons at different locations (stomach, r=0.77; duodenum, r=0.59), suggesting that local myenteric plexus density is a factor determining NOS+ cell concentrations. Third, in contrast to such a principle of covariation within each organ, NOS+ neurons constituted a consistently smaller proportion of gastric (20%) than of duodenal (28%) myenteric plexus neurons, suggesting that a second principle controls the characteristic percentages of the myenteric plexus that express NOS in different organs. Fourth, the regional samples were used to extrapolate the overall number of NOS+ and total myenteric cells in the rat stomach (43,000; 217,000) and first 3.5 cm of the small intestine (29,000; 103,000). These results, taken together, also suggest that the surveying protocol used is capable of detecting subtle differences in cellular distributions, thus providing a practical strategy for investigating patterns of chemical phenotypes within the GI tract.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
0340-2061
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
199
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
99-112
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
Nitric oxide synthase-containing neurons in the myenteric plexus of the rat gastrointestinal tract: distribution and regional density.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.