title: Acidic fibroblast growth factor is present in the enteric nervous system of the large intestine.
abstract: Acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) is a heparin binding protein that displays pleiotropic activity. The purpose of this study was to document the presence of the translated aFGF product, its mRNA, and its location in the colon. mRNA was extracted from bovine large intestine and reverse transcribed to cDNA. Nested-primer PCR was used to determine the presence of mRNA using primers homologous to the previously published bovine aFGF cDNA. Purification of translated aFGF was performed using an established HPLC protocol. Western blot analysis of the HPLC fractions was performed using two epitope-independent antibodies against aFGF. Immunohistochemistry employed these antibodies to determine the locus of aFGF expression. The nested-primer PCR product of predicted size was homologous to the published bovine aFGF mRNA sequence, as determined by DNA sequencing. Intestinal aFGF had a mass similar to bovine aFGF isolated from other tissues, and immunocrossreacted with two peptide-based, epitope-independent anti-aFGF antisera on Western blotting. Immunohistochemical analysis of large intestine using these two independent antisera localized aFGF within the myenteric plexus. These data demonstrate that aFGF is present within the myenteric plexus of the enteric nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Long Island University/CW Post Campus, Greenvale, New York, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capetandes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Di Salvo
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ronan
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002417:Cattle; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D016220:Fibroblast Growth Factor 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007420:Intestine, Large / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000294:innervation / Q000378:metabolism*; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000378:metabolism; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016220:Fibroblast Growth Factor 1