title: Structural changes in gastric glial cells and delayed gastric emptying as responses to early life stress and acute adulthood stress in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Enteric glial cells (EGCs) modulate colonic motility in a maternal separation model. We aimed to investigate structural changes in gastric EGC and gastric emptying as responses to maternal separation and acute adulthood stress in rats to elucidate the pathophysiological roles of gastric EGC.
  
  
  METHODS
  As a chronic stress, we subjected male Wistar rats to 3h of maternal separation during postnatal days 2-14. As an acute adulthood stress (7weeks of age), we used the 8-h water-immersion method. We morphologically evaluated gastric EGCs using whole-mount longitudinal muscle-myenteric plexus preparations. We analyzed gastric emptying by the phenol red method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The area of EGC processes that apparently overlapped with neurons increased according to stress intensity (acute stress, 10.4%; maternal separation, 10.2%; maternal separation plus acute stress, 26.6%; control, 5.0%). Ratios of morphologically changed leaf-like processes to the total processes were 8.1%, acute stress; 10.3%, maternal separation; 4.0%, control. Ratio dramatically increased in the combined stress group (20.5%, p=0.026 vs. control). The mean bulging head area of leaf-like processes in the combined stress group was greater by 6.4μm(2) (control, 2.4μm(2); p=0.042). Gastric emptying in the maternal separation group was gradually delayed (104.1% at 7weeks, 66.7% at 17weeks, and 48.5% at 48weeks; p<0.05, respectively). Gastric emptying in the combined stress group tended to be delayed at 17weeks (45.7% vs. 81% in controls, p=0.066).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gastric EGCs exhibited structural changes according to stress intensity, which may be associated with stress-induced dysfunction of the stomach.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. Electronic address: tomy@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazunari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tominaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan; SAMURAI GI Research Center, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kamata
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamagami
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanigawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arakawa
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005746:Gastric Emptying / Q000502:physiology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D018589:Gastroparesis / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Enteric glial cell; Functional dyspepsia; Gastric motility; Irritable bowel syndrome; Stress