Bisphenol A, used in the production of plastic, is able to leach from containers into food and cause multidirectional adverse effects in living organisms, including neurodegeneration and metabolic disorders. Knowledge of the impact of BPA on enteric neurons is practically non-existent. The destination of this study was to investigate the influence of BPA at a specific dose (0.05 mg/kg body weight/day) and at a dose ten times higher (0.5 mg/kg body weight/day), given for 28 days, on the porcine ileum. The influence of BPA on enteric neuron immunoreactive to selected neuronal active substances, including substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), galanin (GAL), vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT-used here as a marker of cholinergic neurons), and cocaine-and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide (CART), was studied by the double immunofluorescence method. Both doses of BPA affected the neurochemical characterization of the enteric neurons. The observed changes depended on the type of enteric plexus but were generally characterized by an increase in the number of cells immunoreactive to the particular substances. More visible fluctuations were observed after treatment with higher doses of BPA. The results confirm that even low doses of BPA may influence the neurochemical characterization of the enteric neurons and are not neutral for living organisms.

This study reports on changes caused by chemically driven inflammation and axotomy in galanin-like immunoreactive (GAL-LI) nerve structures in the porcine descending colon. The distribution pattern of GAL-LI structures was studied using the immunofluorescence technique in the circular muscle layer, the myenteric (MP), outer submucous (OSP) and inner submucous plexuses (ISP), and also in the mucosal layer. Under physiological conditions GAL-LI perikarya were shown to constitute 3.68 +/- 0.32%, 7.02 +/- 0.93% and 10.99 +/- 0.71% in MP, OSP and ISP, respectively. Both colitis and axotomy caused an increase in GAL-like immunoreactivity, which was different in particular parts of the bowel segment studied. The numbers of GAL-LI perikarya increased to 14.16 +/- 0.49%, 16.78 +/- 1.09% and 37.46 +/- 1.18% during colitis and 7.92 +/- 0.72%, 10.44 +/- 0.71% and 16.20 +/- 0.96% after axotomy in MP, OSP and ISP, respectively. Both these processes caused an increase in the number of GAL-LI nerve fibres in the circular muscle and mucosal layers as well as the appearance of a population of GAL-LI cells in the mucosa.

In recent years, bisphenol analogues such as bisphenol S (BPS) have come to replace bisphenol A in food packaging and food containers, since bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to leach into food and water, causing numerous negative health effects. Unfortunately, little or no research was done to determine the safety of these BPA-free products before they were marketed to the public as a healthier alternative. The latest studies have shown that some of these bisphenol analogues may be even more harmful than the original BPA in some situations. This article used a literature survey to investigate the bisphenol analogue BPS and compare it to BPA and other analogues with regards to increased obesity, metabolic disorders, cancer, and reproductive defects; among others. It was found that BPS works via different pathways than does BPA while causing equivalent obesogenic effects, such as activating preadipocytes, and that BPS was correlated with metabolic disorders, such as gestational diabetes, that BPA was not correlated with. BPS was also shown to be more toxic to the reproductive system than BPA and was shown to hormonally promote certain breast cancers at the same rate as BPA. Therefore, a strong argument may be made to regulate BPS in exactly the same manner as BPA.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) can undergo adaptive and reparative changes in response to physiological and pathological stimuli. These manifest primarily as alterations in the levels of active substances expressed by the enteric neuron. While it is known that mycotoxins can affect the function of the central and peripheral nervous systems, knowledge about their influence on the ENS is limited. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of low doses of zearalenone (ZEN) and T-2 toxin on calcitonin gene related peptide-like immunoreactive (CGRP-LI) neurons in the ENS of the porcine descending colon using a double immunofluorescence technique. Both mycotoxins led to an increase in the percentage of CGRP-LI neurons in all types of enteric plexuses and changed the degree of co-localization of CGRP with other neuronal active substances, such as substance P, galanin, nitric oxide synthase, and cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript peptide. The obtained results demonstrate that even low doses of ZEN and T-2 can affect living organisms and cause changes in the neurochemical profile of enteric neurons.

T-2 toxin is a mycotoxin produced by some Fusarium species, which may affect the synthesis of DNA and RNA and causes various pathological processes. Till now, the influence of T-2 toxin on the enteric nervous system (ENS) located in the wall of gastrointestinal tract has not been studied. On the other hand, cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is one of enteric neuronal factors, whose exact functions in the intestines still remain not fully explained. The present study describes the influence of low doses of T-2 toxin on CART-positive neuronal structures in porcine stomach, duodenum, and descending colon. Distribution of CART was studied using the double immunofluorescence technique in the plexuses of the ENS, as well as in nerve fibers within the circular muscle and mucosal layers of porcine gastrointestinal tract. Generally, after T-2 toxin administration the greater number of CART-LI structures were studied, but intensity of changes depended on part of the ENS and digestive tract fragment studied. The obtained results show that even low doses of T-2 toxin may change the expression of CART in the ENS.

The present investigation pertains to changes in substance P-like immunoreactive (SP-LI) nerve structures of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the porcine descending colon, caused by chemically-induced inflammation and nerve injury (axotomy). The distribution pattern of SP-LI structures was studied using the double immunofluorescence technique in the myenteric (MP), outer submucous (OSP) and inner submucous (ISP) plexuses, as well as in the circular muscle and mucosal layers. Under physiological conditions, SP-LI neurons have been shown to constitute 4.13 ± 0.24%, 3.36 ± 0.26%, and 7.92 ± 0.16% in the MP, OSP, and ISP, respectively. Changes in SP-immunoreactivity depended on the pathological factor studied. The numbers of the SP-LI perikarya amounted to 7.89 ± 0.34, 5.56 ± 0.30, and 19.96 ± 0.57 in chemically-induced colitis, and 4.28 ± 0.13%, 7.18 ± 20%, and 11.62 ± 0.48% after axotomy in MP, OSP, and ISP, respectively. The both studied processes generally resulted in an increase in the number of SP-LI nerve fibers in the circular muscle and mucosal layers. The obtained results suggest that SP-LI nerve structures of the ENS may participate in various pathological processes in the porcine descending colon and exact functions of SP probably depend on the type of the pathological factor.

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