An Immunohistochemical Study of Gastrointestinal Endocrine Cells in the BALB/c Mouse

Abstract

The distributions and frequencies of some endocrine cells in the eight portions of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of BALB/c mouse were studied. Endocrine cells were stained using immunohistochemical method with seven types of antisera against bovine chromogranin (BCG), serotonin, gastrin, cholecystokinin (CCK)-8, somatostatin, glucagon and human pancreatic polypeptide (HPP), and the regional distributions and their relative frequencies were observed in the eight portions of the GIT of BALB/c mice. All seven types of immunoreactive (IR) cells were identified. Most of the IR cells in the intestinal portion were generally spherical or spindle in shape (open type cell) while round-shaped cells (closed type cell) were found in the intestinal gland and stomach regions occasionally. Their relative frequencies varied according to each portion of the GIT. BCG-IR cells were observed throughout the whole GIT except for the rectum and they were most predominant in the pylorus. Serotonin-IR cells were detected throughout the whole GIT and they showed the highest frequency in the fundus. Gastrin- and CCK-IR cells were restricted to the pylorus and duodenum with a majority in the pylorus and rare or a few frequencies in the duodenum. Compared with other mammals, somatostatin-IR cells were restricted to the fundus and pylorus with a few frequencies, respectively. In addition, glucagon- and HPP-IR cells were restricted to the fundus and duodenum, respectively, with relative low frequencies. Some species-dependent unique distributions and frequencies of endocrine cells were observed in the GIT of BALB/c mouse compared with other rodents.

Decrease in intestinal endocrine cells in Balb/c mice with CT-26 carcinoma cells

“…It is well known that somatostatin-IR cells have the widest distribution throughout the GI tract, except for the large intestine, among all vertebrate species examined using serotonin-IR cells [11]. However, somatostatin-IR cells were not detected in this study; this finding may be a strain-specific characteristic of Balb/c mice [10]. …”

“…There has been extensive research on gastrointestinal (GI) endocrine cells in mouse strains, including normal Balb/c mice [3,10-12]. Changes in GI endocrine cells with some diseases have been demonstrated [1,5,14,15].…”

Serotonin Has a Key Role in Pathogenesis of Experimental Colitis

“…EC cells are the best characterized subset of gut endocrine cells, which are dispersed throughout the gut mucosa and are the main source of 5-HT in the gut. [3][4][5] 5-HT can also be produced by mast cells in rodents, which are also increased in inflammation. 6 EC cells produce about 95% of 5-HT in the body and respond to luminal stimuli directly via the enzymes and transporters present on the apical part and indirectly by mediators from the surrounding cells.…”

Distribution of neuroendocrine cells in the small and large intestines of the mole-rats (Spalax leucodon)

“…Several studies have demonstrated the regional distributions and relative frequencies of different endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of various vertebrates, including several species and some of rodent species, and different kinds of these cells were described using immunohistochemical methods. In the Rodentia, the localizations of endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of the rat (Sakata et al 2002;Sarı et al 2007), mice (Sandstrom & El-Salhy 2000), gerbil (Lee et al 2000), hairless mouse (Ku et al 2002), C57BL/6 mouse (Ku et al 2003), Balb/c mouse (Ku et al 2004a), ddY mouse (Ku et al 2004b), nude mice (Ku et al 2006) and ddN mice (Lee et al 2010) were demonstrated. Changes of regional distribution and relative frequency of some gastrointestinal endocrine cells with aging were also reported in mice (Sandstrom & El-Salhy 2000) and the distribution and frequency of gastrointestinal endocrine cells in various mouse species has been shown with strain-dependent differences to a certain degree (Ku et al 2002(Ku et al , 2003(Ku et al , 2004a(Ku et al , 2004b.…”