Monoamine-storing cells in the avian aortic wall.
Using the Falck-Hillarp method, monoamine-storing cells were demonstrated in the avian thoracic aorta just above the openings of the ductus arteriosus. By electron microscopy, numerous dense-cored vesicles, 90-220 nm in diameter, were seen in the cytoplasm. The electron opacity of these dense-cored vesicles was reduced when reserpine (5 mg/kg) was administered. These monoamine-storing cells formed typical synapses with the Schwann cell-enclosed nerve terminals. The monoamine-storing cells first appeared in the aortic wall at 9 days in ovo but it remained obscure whether they originated from the neuroectoderm.
D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D002838:Chromaffin System / Q000166:cytology*; D010233:Paraganglia, Chromaffin / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012110:Reserpine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D013569:Synapses / Q000648:ultrastructure
D002395:Catecholamines; D012701:Serotonin; D012110:Reserpine