title: Calretinin immunoreactive nerve endings in the trachea and bronchi of the rat.
abstract: Nerve endings showing calretinin immunoreactivity were examined in the lower respiratory tract of the adult rat. Tree-like nerve endings were immunostained in the tracheal and bronchial smooth muscle layer. The endings that arose from thick nerve fibers and formed corpuscles composed of many arborized nerve terminals. A few of the nerve endings were also observed in the lamina propria of the tracheal mucosa, close to the epithelial layer. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed that the immunoreactive terminals were filled with mitochondria and scattered among the intermuscular collagen fibrils. Schwann cell sheath and collagen fibrils were intercalated between the smooth muscle cells and nerve endings. The calretinin immunoreactive nerve endings observed in the present study seem to be slowly adapting stretch receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Gifu University, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Atoji
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000294:innervation* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D064032:Calbindin 2; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009411:Nerve Endings / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G / Q000032:analysis*; D014132:Trachea / Q000294:innervation* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: C576512:Calb2 protein, rat; D064032:Calbindin 2; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D064030:S100 Calcium Binding Protein G