title: Scanning electron microscopy of capsaicin-pretreated trachea in the rat during postnatal development.
abstract: The morphological changes of the tracheal surface were studied in neonatally capsaicin-pretreated rats by scanning electron microscopy. One week after neonatal capsaicin treatment, a sparse number of ciliated cells were dispersed among the microvilli-covered goblet cells similar to those of the sham-operated rats. Potential ciliated cells (progenitor cells) possessed a few long cilia and many short cilia. The ciliated cells possessed cilia with a smooth surface and a blunt end similar to that of the sham-operated rats. Two weeks after neonatal capsaicin treatment, numerous ciliated cells frequently in clusters were located among large patches of microvilli-covered goblet cells similar to those of sham-operated rats. Furthermore, the blunt ends of cilia and microvilli contained short star-shaped protrusions extending into the lumen of the trachea. One month after neonatal capsaicin treatment, the star-shaped protrusions became longer, and more irregular than those of sham-operated rats. The short cilia of the potential ciliated cells (progenitor cells) also became blunt and irregular in shape. The star-shaped protrusions of the microvilli of the goblet cells became larger and thicker than those observed at two weeks following capsaicin-pretreatment. Two months after neonatal capsaicin treatment, the tracheal surface was lined with a much greater population of the ciliated cells than that at one month. A striking characteristic at this age was that globular mucin-containing secretory products were trapped within the cilia of the ciliated cells. The results of this study suggest that mucus secretion is probably blocked by the capsaicin-pretreatment. Furthermore, the star-shaped protrusions of cilia and microvilli may indicate that the mucociliary clearance mechanism is interfered with by the capsaicin-pretreatment.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Anatomy, School of Life Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002211:Capsaicin / Q000633:toxicity*; D002923:Cilia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008871:Microvilli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009079:Mucociliary Clearance / Q000502:physiology; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013499:Surface Properties; D014132:Trachea / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D002211:Capsaicin