Abstract
We have investigated indirectly the presence of nitric oxide in the enteric nervous system of the digestive tract of human fetuses and newborns by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunocytochemistry and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry. In the stomach, NOS immunoactivity was confined to the myenteric plexus and nerve fibres in the outer smooth musculature; few immunoreactive nerve cell bodies were found in ganglia of the outer submucous plexus. In the pyloric region, a few nitrergic perikarya were seen in the inner submucous plexus and some immunoreactive fibres were found in the muscularis mucosae. In the small intestine, nitrergic neurons clustered just underneath or above the topographical plane formed by the primary nerve strands of the myenteric plexus up to the 26th week of gestation, after which stage, they occurred throughout the ganglia. Many of their processes contributed to the dense fine-meshed tertiary nerve network of the myenteric plexus and the circular smooth muscle layer. NOS-immunoreactive fibres directed to the circular smooth muscle layer originated from a few NOS-containing perikarya located in the outer submucous plexus. In the colon, caecum and rectum, labelled nerve cells and fibres were numerous in the myenteric plexus; they were also found in the outer submucous plexus. The circular muscle layer had a much denser NOS-immunoreactive innervation than the longitudinally oriented taenia. The marked morphological differences observed between nitrergic neurons within the developing human gastrointestinal tract, together with the typical innervation pattern in the ganglionic and aganglionic nerve networks, support the existenc of distinct subpopulations of NOS-containing enterice neurons acting as interneurons or (inhibitory) motor neurons.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aoki E, Semba R, Kashiwamata S (1991) Evidence for the presence of L-arginine in the glial components of the peripheral nervous system. Brain Res 559:159–162
Belai A, Schmidt HHHW, Hoyle CHV, Hassall CJS, Saffrey MJ, Moss J, Forstermann U, Murad F, Burnstock G (1992) Colocalization of nitric oxide synthase and NADPH-diaphorase in the myenteric plexus of the rat gut. Neurosci Lett 143:60–64
Berezin I, Huizinga JD, Farraway L, Daniel EE (1990) Innervation of interstitial cells of Cajal by vasoactive intestinal polypeptide containing nerves in canine colon. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 68:922–932
Boeckxstaens GE, Pelckmans PA, Bult H, De Man JG, Herman AG, Van Maercke YM (1991) Evidence for nitric oxide as mediator of non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic relaxations induced by ATP and GABA in the canine gut. Br J Pharmacol 102:434–438
Bogers JJ, Pelckmans PA, Boeckxstaens GE, De Man JG, Herman AG, Van Maercke YM (1991) The role of nitric oxide in serotonin-induced relaxations in the canine terminal ileum and ileocolonic junction. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 344:716–719
Bogers JJ, Timmermans J-P, Scheuermann DW, Pelckmans PA, Mayer B, Van Marck E (1992) Morphological evidence for the presence of nitric oxide synthase in intrinsic neurons of the human and porcine ileocaecal junction. J Gastrointest Motil 4:210
Bredt DS, Hwang PM, Snyder SH (1990) Localization of nitric oxide synthase indicating a neural role for nitric oxide. Nature 347:768–770
Bult H, Boeckxstaens GE, Pelckmans PA, Jordaens FH, Van Maercke YM, Herman AG (1990) Nitric oxide as an inhibitory non-adrenergic non-cholinergic neurotransmitter. Nature 345:346–347
Burleigh DE (1992) Ng-nitro-L-arginine reduces nonadrenergic, noncholinergic relaxations of human gut. Gastroenterology 102:679–683
Burnstock G (1982) Purinergic nerves. Pharmacol Rev 24:510–581
Burnstock G, Campbell G, Satchell D, Smythe A (1970) Evidence that adenosine triphosphate or a related nucleotide is the transmitter substance released by non-adrenergic inhibitory nerves in the gut. Br J Pharmacol 40:668–688
Christinck F, Jury J, Cayabyab F, Daniel EE (1991) Nitric oxide may be the final mediator of noradrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory junction potentials in the gut. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 69:1448–1458
Costa M, Furness JB, Brookes SJH, Bredt DS, Snyder SH (1991a) Presence and chemical coding of neurons with nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the guinea-pig small intestine. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 22:97P
Costa M, Waterman S, Brookes SJH (1991 b) The role of nitricoxide synthesizing enteric neurons in peristalsis in the guinea-pig small and large intestine. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 22:98P
Crowe R, Kamm MA, Burnstock G, Lennard-Jones JE (1992) Peptide-containing neurons in different regions of the submucous plexus of human sigmoid colon. Gastroenterology 102:461–467
D'Amato M, Curro D, Mortuschi P (1992) Evidence for dual components in the non-adrenergic non-cholinergic relaxation in the rat gastric fundus: role of endogenous nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide. J Auton Nerv Syst 37:175–186
Daniel EE, Berezin I (1992) Interstitial cells of Cajal: are they major players in control of gastrointestinal motility? J Gastrointest Motil 4:1–24
Dawson TM, Bredt DS, Fotuhi M, Hwang PM, Snyder SH (1991) Nitric oxide synthase and neuronal NADPH diaphorase are identical in brain and peripheral tissues. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88:7797–7801
De Man JG, Pelckmans PA, Boeckxstaens GE, Bult H, Oosterbosch L, Herman AG, Van Maercke YM (1991) The role of nitric oxide in inhibitory non-adrenergic non-cholinergic neurotransmission in the canine lower oesophageal sphincter. Br J Pharmacol 103:1092–1096
Desai KM, Sessa WC, Vane JR (1991 a) Involvement of nitric oxide in the reflex relaxation of the stomach to accommodate food or fluid. Nature 351:477–479
Desai KM, Zembowicz A, Sessa WC, Vane JR (1991 b) Nitroxergic nerves mediate vagally induced relaxation in the isolated stomach of the guinea pig. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88:11490–11494
Domoto T, Bishop AE, Oki M, Polak JM (1990) An in vitro study of the projections of enteric vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive neurons in the human colon. Gastroenterology 98:819–827
Facer P, Bishop AE, Moscoso G, Terenghi G, Liu YF, Goodman RH, Legon S, Polak JM (1992) Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide gene expression in the developing human gastrointestinal tract. Gastroenterology 102:47–55
Forster ER, Southam E (1992) Location of nitric oxide synthase in rat gastric corpus. Regul Pept 40:146
Furness JB, Costa M (1982) Enteric inhibitory nerves and VIP. In: Said SI (ed) Vasoactive intestinal peptide. Raven Press, New York, pp 391–406
Furness JB, Costa M, Pompolo S, Bornstein JC, Bredt DS, Snyder SH (1991) Projections of neurons with nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the guinea-pig small intestine. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 22:99P
Furness JB, Pompolo S, Shuttleworth CWR, Burleigh DE (1992) Light- and electron-microscopic immunochemical analysis of nerve fibre types innervating the taenia of the guinea-pig caecum. Cell Tissue Res 270:125–137
Goyal RK, Ratton S, Said SI (1980) VIP as a possible neurotransmitter of non-cholinergic non-adrenergic inhibitory neurons. Nature 288:378–380
Grider JR, Murthy KS, Gin J-G, Makhlouf GM (1992) Stimulation of nitric oxide from muscle cells by VIP: prejunctional enhancement of VIP release. Am J Physiol 262:G774-G778
Grozdanovic Z, Baumgarten HG, Brüning G (1992) Histochemistry of NADPH-diaphorase, a marker for neuronal nitric oxide synthase, in the peripheral autonomic nervous system of the mouse. Neuroscience 48:225–235
Hope BT, Michael GJ, Knigge KM, Vincent SR (1991) Neuronal NADPH diaphorase is a nitric oxide synthase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88:2811–2814
Hoyle CHV, Burnstock G (1989) Neuronal populations in the submucous plexus of the human colon. J Anat 166:7–22
Huizinga JD, Tomlinson J, Pintin-Quezada J (1992) Involvement of nitric oxide in nerve-mediated inhibition and action of vasoactive intestinal peptide in colonic smooth muscle. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 260:803–808
Klatt P, Heinzel B, John M, Kastner M, Böhme E, Mayer B (1992) Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent cytochrome c reductase activity of brain nitric oxide synthase. J Biol Chem 267:11374–11378
Larsson LT, Helm G, Malmfors G, Sundler F (1987) Ontogeny of peptide-containing neurones in human gut — an immunocytochemical study. Regul Pept 17:243–256
Li CG, Rand MJ (1990) Nitric oxide and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide mediate non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic inhibitory transmission to smooth muscle of the rat gastric fundus. Eur J Pharmacol 191:303–309
Li ZS, Furness JB, Young HM, Campbell G (1992) Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity and NADPH diaphorase enzyme activity in neurons of the gastrointestinal tract of the toad, Bufo marinus. Arch Histol Cytol 55:333–350
Llewellyn-Smith IJ, Costa M, Furness JB (1985) Light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry of the same nerves from whole mount preparations. J Histochem Cytochem 33:857–866
Makhlouf GM (1982) Role of VIP in the function of the gut. In: Said SI (ed) Vasoactive intestinal peptide. Raven Press, New York, pp 425–446
Mayer B, John M, Böhme E (1990) Purification of a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent nitric oxide synthase from porcine cerebellum. FEBS Lett 277:215–219
McConalogue K, Furness JB (1993) Projections of nitric oxide synthesising neurons in the guinea-pig colon. Cell Tissue Res 271:545–553
Mikkelsen HB, Thuneberg L, Rumessen JJ, Thorball N (1985) Macrophage-like cells in the muscularis externa of mouse small intestine. Anat Rec 213:77–86
Mikkelsen HB, Thuneberg L, Wittrup IH (1988) Selective double staining of interstitial cells of Cajal and macrophage-like cells in small intestine by an improved supravital methylene blue technique combined with FITC-dextran uptake. Anat Embryol 178:191–195
Miller AS, Costa M, Bredt D, Snyder S (1991) Immunohistochemical and physiological evidence to support a role for nitric oxide as a transmitter from enteric inhibitory neurons in the guineapig gastric fundus. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 22:100P
Osthaus LE, Galligan JJ (1992) Antagonists of nitric oxide synthesis inhibit nerve-mediated relaxations of longitudinal muscle in guinea pig ileum. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 260:140–145
Sanders KM, Smith TK (1986) Motoneurones of the submucous plexus regulate electrical activity of the circular muscle of canine proximal colon. J Physiol (Lond) 380:293–310
Scherer-Singler U, Vincent SR, Kimura H, McGeer EG (1983) Demonstration of a unique population of neurons with NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry. J Neurosci Methods 9:229–234
Scheuermann DW, Stach W, De Groodt-Lasseel MHA, Timmermans J-P (1987) Calcitonin gene-related peptide in morphologically well-defined type-II neurons of the enteric nervous system in the porcine small intestine. Acta Anat 129:325–328
Scheuermann DW, Stach W, Timmermans J-P, Adriaensen D, De Groodt-Lasseel MHA (1989) Neuron-specific enolase and S-100 protein immunohistochemistry for defining the structure and topographical relationship of the different enteric nerve plexuses in the small intestine in the pig. Cell Tissue Res 256:65–75
Shuttleworth CWR, Murphy R, Furness JB (1991 a) Evidence that nitric oxide participates in non-adrenergic inhibitory transmission to intestinal muscle in the guinea-pig. Neurosci Lett 130:77–80
Shuttleworth CWR, Furness JB, Murphy R, Bredt DS, Snyder SH (1991 b) Evidence that nitric oxide participates in non-adrenergic inhibitory transmission to intestinal muscle in the guinea-pig. Proc Aust Physiol Pharmacol Soc 22:101P
Simmons ML, Murphy S (1992) Induction of nitric oxide synthase in glial cells. J Neurochem 59:897–905
Stach W (1980) Zur neuronalen Organisation des Plexus myentericus (Auerbach) im Schweinedünndarm. I. Typ I-Neurone. Z Mikrosk Anat Forsch 94:883–889
Stark ME, Szurszewski JH (1992) Role of nitric oxide in gastrointestinal and hepatic function and disease. Gastroenterology 103:1928–1949
Stark ME, Bauer AJ, Sarr MG, Szurszewski JH (1993) Nitric oxide mediates inhibitory nerve input in human and canine jejunum. Gastroenterology 104:398–409
Thuneberg L (1989) Interstitial cells of Cajal. In: Wood JD (ed) Handbook of physiology. The gastrointestinal system I. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp 349–386
Timmermans J-P, Scheuermann DW, Stach W, Adriaensen D, De Groodt-Lasseel MHA (1990) distinct distribution of CGRP-, enkephalin-, galanin-, neuromedin U-, neuropeptide Y-, somatostatin-, substance P-, VIP- and serotonin-containing neurons in the two submucosal ganglionic neural networks of the porcine small intestine. Cell Tissue Res 260:367–379
Timmermans J-P, Scheuermann DW, Barbiers M, Bogers JJ, Adriaensen D, Stach W, Van Marck E, Mayer B, De Groodt-Lasseel MHA (1993a) Morphological appearance, projections and neurochemical features of nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactive and NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons in the wall of the porcine and human small intestine. Ann Anat 175:65
Timmermans J-P, Scheuermann DW, Bogers JJ, Fekete E, Adriaensen D, Barbiers M, Van Marck E, Mayer B, De Groodt-Lasseel MHA (1993b) Neurons with nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the porcine and human small intestine. Ann Anat 175:336–337
Toda N, Baba H, Okamura T (1990) Role of nitric oxide in nonadrenergic, non-cholinergic nerve-mediated relaxation in dog duodenal longitudinal muscle strips. Jpn J Pharmacol 53:281–284
Tøttrup A, Svane D, Forman A (1991) Nitric oxide mediating NANC inhibition in opossum lower esophageal sphincter. Am J Physiol 260:G385-G389
Vanderwinden JM, Mailleux P, Schiffmann SN, Vanderhaeghen J-J, De Laet M-H (1992a) Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) distribution in the enteric nervous system (ENS) in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IPHS), achalasia of the esophagus (ACA) and Hirschsprung's disease (HD). Regul Pept 40:267
Vanderwinden JM, Mailleux P, Schiffmann SN, Vanderhaeghen J-J, De Laet M-H (1992 b) Nitric oxide synthase activity in infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. N Engl J Med 327:511–515
Ward SM, Xue C, Shuttleworth CW, Bredt DS, Snyder SH, Sanders KM (1992) NADPH diaphorase and nitric oxide synthase colocalization in enteric neurons of canine proximal colon. Am J Physiol 263:G277-G284
Young HM, Furness JB, Shuttleworth CWR, Bredt DS, Snyder SH (1992) Co-localization of nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity and NADPH diaphorase staining in neurons of the guinea-pig intestine. Histochemistry 97:375–378
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Timmermans, JP., Barbiers, M., Scheuermann, D.W. et al. Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in the enteric nervous system of the developing human digestive tract. Cell Tissue Res 275, 235–245 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00319421
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00319421