Topography of cholinergic perikarya and nerve fibres as well as cholinergic vesicles in the rat duodenum.
Using the acetylthiocholine staining method, it was possible to visualize acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-stained neuronal cell bodies and nerve endings as well as AChE-positive vesicles in the rat duodenum. AChE-reactive perikarya were seen with certainty only in the myenteric plexus. They were 40 micron in diameter and were mostly localized in groups within the ganglia (3-6 neurons per ganglion). Some thick, AChE-reactive nerve processes, running over a long distance in interconnecting nerve fibre strands, had their origin from AChE-containing myenteric plexus perikarya. AChE-stained nerve fibres were detected in the myenteric and submucosal plexus as well as in the longitudinal and circular smooth muscle cell layer. AChE-positive nerve fibres were in close contacts with blood vessels, probably arterioles, Brunner's gland cells and epithelial cells. A conspicuously high density of AChE-positive nerve fibres was noted in the longitudinal smooth muscle layer, while AChE-stained nerve fibres were visualized only sporadically in the circular smooth muscle layer. Some Brunner's gland cells and epithelial cells contained AChE-reactive vesicles, which were constantly localized on the basal cell portion. The present findings might indicate that acetylcholine possesses important physiological roles as neurotransmitter and/or neuromodulator in the rat duodenum.
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002011:Brunner Glands / Q000201:enzymology; D002799:Cholinergic Fibers / Q000201:enzymology; D004386:Duodenum / Q000201:enzymology / Q000294:innervation*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008297:Male; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000166:cytology*; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000201:enzymology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013368:Submucous Plexus / Q000166:cytology*
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase