title: Fine structure of neurons synthesizing vasoactive intestinal peptide in the human colon from patients with Hirschsprung's disease.
abstract: The fine structure of neuronal perikarya and processes containing VIP-like immunoreactive material in the colon of patients with Hirschsprung's disease was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy. No VIP-like immunoreactive terminals were found in Auerbach's plexus of the ganglionic segment. However, VIP-like immunoreactive preterminal axons were frequently found to make synaptic contact with both immunoreactive and non-immunoreactive elements within Meissner's plexus. Therefore, the function of the VIP neurons in Auerbach's plexus seems to differ from that in Meissner's plexus. In the oligoganglionic segment, there were a few VIP-like immunoreactive processes, but no VIP-like immunoreactive synaptic formations. VIP-like immunoreactive processes were rarely encountered in the aganglionic segment. In both the oligo- and aganglionic segments, bowel relaxation is considered to be disturbed due to the lack of synaptic contacts of VIP-like immunoreactive neurons with other neuronal components.
authors.affiliation: Division of Surgery, Children's Research Hospital, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuto
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Obata-Tsuto
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iwai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ibata
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003106:Colon / Q000294:innervation*; D006627:Hirschsprung Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide