Effect of denervation on lamellar cells of Meissner-like sensory corpuscles of the rat. An immunohistochemical study.
The denervation-induced changes on S-100 protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin immunoreactivity (IR) of the lamellar cells from cutaneous Meissner-like sensory nerve formations (SNF), or corpuscles, of the adult rat hind limb foot-pads were studied, using combined immunohistochemical and image analysis (optic microdensitometry) techniques. Animals were allowed to survive for 1, 3 and 7 days following sciatic and saphenous nerves transection. Lamellar cells of Meissner-like corpuscles displayed S-100 protein- and vimentin-IR, but not GFAP-IR. Denervation caused a marked time-dependent decrease of S-100 protein IR whereas vimentin-IR did not change or weakly increased. No positive GFAP-IR was observed in denervated SNF. These findings suggest that continuity of SNF with nerve fibers supplying them is necessary to maintain some of the immunohistochemical characteristics of the non-neuronal cells of SNF.
Del Valle
M E
ME
Departamento de Morfología y Biología Celular, Facultad Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain.
Cabal
A
A
Alvarez-Mendez
J C
JC
Calzada
B
B
Haro
J J
JJ
Collier
W
W
Vega
J A
JA
D000818:Animals; D003714:Denervation; D017950:Ganglia, Sensory / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation / Q000378:metabolism*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism*
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D009418:S100 Proteins; D014746:Vimentin