Table 1

Immunoreactivity of neural, glial, and muscular structures in the patient and in 10 controls (mean values in parentheses)

		Submucous plexus		Submucous border		Circular muscle layer	Myenteric plexus	Longitudinal muscle layer
		Submucous plexus		Dilated colon	Non-dilated colon	Circular muscle layer	Myenteric plexus	Longitudinal muscle layer
Neurofilaments	1 (2)	1	1 (2)	0 (1)	1 (2)	0 (1)
Neurone specific enolase	1 (3)	0	0 (1)	0 (1)	1 (3)	0 (1)
Synaptophysin	0 (2)	0	0 (1)	0 (1)	0 (2)	0 (1)
Glial fibrillary acidic protein	1 (2)	1	1 (1)	1 (2)	1 (2)	1 (2)
S100 protein	1 (2)	1	1 (1)	1 (2)	1 (2)	1 (2)
Smooth muscle α-actin	0 (0)	0	1 (0)	3 (3)	0 (0)	3 (3)

Numerical scale: 0 = absent, 1 = focal, 2 = multifocal, 3 = diffuse. Density of immunoreactivity was similar in both the dilated and the non-dilated colon except for anti smooth muscle α-actin positive cells only on the submucous border of the circular muscle of the non-dilated colon.