Biomaterial Database

Quantitative ultrastructural analysis of enkephalin-, substance P-, and VIP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the circular muscle of the guinea pig small intestine. 1988

I J Llewellyn-Smith, and J B Furness, and I L Gibbins, and M Costa

Department of Anatomy, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia.

The present work was undertaken to determine what proportion of all nerve fibers in the circular muscle of the guinea pig small intestine contain the neuropeptides enkephalin, substance P, and vasoactive intestinal peptide and in which combinations these peptides occur in the fibers. It was envisaged that such an analysis would provide insights into the chemical identity of excitatory and inhibitory nerve fibers that innervate the muscle. Whole-mount preparations from normal and extrinsically denervated gut were labelled with antiserum to the individual peptides or with combinations of antipeptide antisera and processed for electron microscopy. Reactive and nonreactive vesicle-containing nerve fiber profiles were examined and counted in ultrathin sections. Vesicle-containing nerve fiber profiles immunoreactive for enkephalin, substance P, or vasoactive intestinal peptide had similar morphologies in that they all contained variable proportions of small clear and large granular vesicles. In all samples stained for single peptides or combinations of peptides, a small proportion of immunoreactive profiles approached smooth muscle cells to within 15-20 nm with no intervening basal lamina. A total of 14,694 vesiculated nerve fiber profiles from three control and three extrinsically denervated animals were scored for the presence of immunoreactivity to enkephalin, substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide, or combinations of these peptides. Analysis of variance showed that the number of profiles labelled for substance P was not different from the number of profiles labelled for vasoactive intestinal peptide and that the number labelled with the substance P and vasoactive intestinal peptide antisera simultaneously were not different from the sum of the numbers obtained with each alone. The number of profiles labelled for substance P plus enkephalin was greater than the number labelled for substance P alone and the number labelled with vasoactive intestinal peptide plus enkephalin was greater than that with vasoactive intestinal peptide alone. Simultaneous labelling for substance P and vasoactive intestinal peptide resulted in immunoreactivity in the same number of profiles as did reaction for all three peptides at the same time. In both cases, about 95% of the profiles were labelled. The results from extrinsically denervated muscle were not different from control circular muscle. These results indicate that nearly all the intrinsic nerve fibers supplying the circular muscle of the guinea pig small intestine contain either substance P or vasoactive intestinal peptide but not both.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007150	Immunohistochemistry	Histochemical localization of immunoreactive substances using labeled antibodies as reagents.	Immunocytochemistry,Immunogold Techniques,Immunogold-Silver Techniques,Immunohistocytochemistry,Immunolabeling Techniques,Immunogold Technics,Immunogold-Silver Technics,Immunolabeling Technics,Immunogold Silver Technics,Immunogold Silver Techniques,Immunogold Technic,Immunogold Technique,Immunogold-Silver Technic,Immunogold-Silver Technique,Immunolabeling Technic,Immunolabeling Technique,Technic, Immunogold,Technic, Immunogold-Silver,Technic, Immunolabeling,Technics, Immunogold,Technics, Immunogold-Silver,Technics, Immunolabeling,Technique, Immunogold,Technique, Immunogold-Silver,Technique, Immunolabeling,Techniques, Immunogold,Techniques, Immunogold-Silver,Techniques, Immunolabeling
D007421	Intestine, Small	The portion of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT between the PYLORUS of the STOMACH and the ILEOCECAL VALVE of the LARGE INTESTINE. It is divisible into three portions: the DUODENUM, the JEJUNUM, and the ILEUM.	Small Intestine,Intestines, Small,Small Intestines
D008297	Male		Males
D008854	Microscopy, Electron	Microscopy using an electron beam, instead of light, to visualize the sample, thereby allowing much greater magnification. The interactions of ELECTRONS with specimens are used to provide information about the fine structure of that specimen. In TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY the reactions of the electrons that are transmitted through the specimen are imaged. In SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY an electron beam falls at a non-normal angle on the specimen and the image is derived from the reactions occurring above the plane of the specimen.	Electron Microscopy
D009132	Muscles	Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals.	Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D009412	Nerve Fibers	Slender processes of NEURONS, including the AXONS and their glial envelopes (MYELIN SHEATH). Nerve fibers conduct nerve impulses to and from the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.	Cerebellar Mossy Fibers,Mossy Fibers, Cerebellar,Cerebellar Mossy Fiber,Mossy Fiber, Cerebellar,Nerve Fiber
D004745	Enkephalins	One of the three major families of endogenous opioid peptides. The enkephalins are pentapeptides that are widespread in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in the adrenal medulla.	Enkephalin
D005260	Female		Females
D006168	Guinea Pigs	A common name used for the genus Cavia. The most common species is Cavia porcellus which is the domesticated guinea pig used for pets and biomedical research.	Cavia,Cavia porcellus,Guinea Pig,Pig, Guinea,Pigs, Guinea
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia