Light and electron microscopic study of the effects of ZnSO₄ on mouse nasal respiratory epithelium and subsequent responses

Abstract

The effects of ZnSO4 irrigation on mouse nasal respiratory epithelium (NRE) and subsequent responses of the tissue were studied at the light and electron microscopic levels in two different strains of mice (C57Bl/6J and SWR/J). The most marked effect of the ZnSO4 took the form of necrosis and sloughing of surface cells in both strains one-half day after ZnSO4 irrigation. This treatment caused maximal change in a different cell type in each of the two strains. Ciliated cells were most noticeably affected in the C57Bl/6J strain, secretory cells in the SWR/J strain. Subsequent manifestations of recovery differed accordingly in each strain. In the C57Bl/6J mice numerous dividing surface cells and large areas of tall nonciliated and ciliating cells were prominent two to five days after treatment. Secretory cells appeared normal but were reduced in numbers during this time, indicating that they were also affected by the treatment. The NRE of this strain was normal by the fourteenth day following treatment. The NRE of SWR/J animals, on the other hand, contained no visibly dividing cells and no large areas of nonciliated cells during the first four days following treatment, although a few ciliating cells were present at this time. The secretory cell population in these animals was normal after five days but individual cells deviated from normalcy by containing numerous dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum which persisted in the secretory cells during the remainder of the experiment.

Protein 1 and Clara cell 10-kDa protein distribution in normal and neoplastic tissues with emphasis on the respiratory system

“…Indifferent cells are believed to differentiate into ciliated cells or goblet cells. Such differentiation is seen not only in the trachea and bronchi but also in the regenerating nasal septum in experimental animals [17]. Small mucus granule cells are identical to mucus goblet cells, except that their cytoplasm is not distended by mucus granules.…”

Olfactory ensheathing cells express smooth muscle α‐actin in vitro and in vivo

“…Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), specialized glia cells of the olfactory system, envelop hundreds of olfactory axons into fascicles of various sizes, displaying a glia/axon ratio quite different from that seen between Schwann cells (SCs) and unmyelinated axons in peripheral nerves. Since olfactory neurons display a robust turnover in adult mammals (Mulvaney and Heist, 1971;Matulionis, 1975;Harding et al, 1977;Costanzo and Graziadei, 1983), the directional growth of new olfactory axons from the peripheral nervous system to the central nervous system has made OECs a popular cellular strategy to promote repair after spinal cord injury (SCI). Several research groups have reported that, following implantation into the injured spinal cord of adult rats and nonhuman primates, grafted OECs are capable of generating myelin around central axons, closely resembling the morphology of myelinating SCs (Franklin et al, 1996;Imaizumi et al, 1998;Li et al, 1998;Barnett et al, 2000;Kato et al, 2000;Smith et al, 2002;Dunning et al, 2004;Radtke et al, 2004;Saski et al, 2004).…”

The effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy on human ciliated respiratory mucosa

“…The use of light microscopy to determine the effects of various chemicals and treatments on the histomorphologic structure of nasal and sinus‐ciliated respiratory epithelium is well established in the literature 35–40. In addition, any changes in the histomorphologic structure of the paranasal sinus epithelium has correlated with functional sinus mucosal changes, such as a change in ciliary beat frequency 35–40. Furthermore, the human highly differentiated ciliated respiratory EpiAirway tissues used in this study are ideal for basic cell and molecular biology studies, pharmaceutical target validation, and preclinical toxicity/efficacy determination, as well as inhalation toxicity studies of occupational or environmental air pollutants and toxins 25.…”