title: Effect of protein and vitamin B deficiency on the morpho-quantitative aspects of the myenteric plexus of the descending colon of adult rats.
abstract: We carried out this work with the purpose of studying the effects of protein and vitamin B deficiency on the morphologic and quantitative aspects of the myenteric plexus of the descending colon of adult Rattus norvegicus. Twenty-eight rats were divided in two groups, one of them receiving chow with 22% protein level (control) and the other fed with chow having 8% protein level without vitamin B supplementation, during 120 days. Whole-mounts of the descending colon were prepared and stained with Giemsa, NADH-diaphorase and NADPH-diaphorase. The undernourished rats had a body weight 11.84% less than the control group. Relative to the controls, the experimental group had a colonic area 48% smaller, 51.9% less Giemsa-stained neurons, 28.3% less NADH-diaphorase positive neurons and 24.2% less NADPH-diaphorase positive neurons.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Paranaense (UNIPAR), Umuarama, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Eduardo José de Almeida
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: Débora de Mello Gonçales
authors.initials: Dde M
authors.lastname: Sant'Ana Dd
authors.forename: Sônia Lucy
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Molinari
authors.forename: Marcílio Hubner
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: de Miranda Neto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002452:Cell Count; D003106:Colon / Q000201:enzymology / Q000294:innervation*; D008058:Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009197:Myenteric Plexus / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D011488:Protein Deficiency / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase; D008058:Dihydrolipoamide Dehydrogenase