Demonstration of benzodiazepine receptors in submucosal neurons of the gastrointestinal tract.
Benzodiazepine (BZ) receptors were visualized in laminar preparations of the rat colon submucosa, using a fluorescent derivative of the benzodiazepine receptor ligand desdiethyl fluorazepam, Bodipy RO-1986 (50 nM). Collateral confirmation of the results obtained were sought through immunohistochemistry, using a monoclonal antibody (62-3GI) for benzodiazepine cell receptors. Both procedures showed that a large proportion of ganglia in the colon submucosa displayed cells with extensive labelling of their soma. Nerve fibres and processes, blood vessels and vascular nerve bundles were not labelled. Fluorescent ligand-labelling could be reduced, using the BZ receptor ligand diazepam (5 microM). These findings provide an anatomical basis for the previously described neuropharmacology of BZ in the gut.
Department of Physiology, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
A
A
Krantis
K
K
Nichols
A
A
de Blas
W
W
Staines
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D003106:Colon / Q000294:innervation*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa; D008297:Male; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000294:innervation*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001896:Boron Compounds; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; C090668:Ro 1986