0000000000074475

AUTHOR

H.j. Zentel

The neuro-B cell link of peptidergic innervation in the Bursa Fabricii

The Bursa Fabricii, restricted to birds, specifically provides the microenvironment for B-cell maturation. The presence of nerve fibers containing immunopotent neuropeptides in immune organs opens interesting perspectives on the understanding of neuroimmune communication. As an organ for the development of only B-lymphocytes is not known in mammals, the contribution of a peptidergic innervation to the microenvironment of B-cells is not known. Therefore, we studied the peptidergic innervation of the Bursa Fabricii as an organ of B-cell maturation. Four different neuropeptides were found in nerve fibers of the Bursa Fabricii: tachykinins (TK), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), galanin (GAL…

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Ontogeny of gonadotropin releasing hormone and gonadotropin immunoreactivity in brain and pituitary of normal and estrogen-treated guppies, Poecilia reticulata Peters.

Gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and gonadotropic hormone (GTH) were identified by immunohistochemistry in the brains and pituitaries of neonate, juvenile and adult guppies. GTH was present in some cells of the pars intermedia (pi) and proximal pars distalis (ppd) of all animals. GnRH was found in the perikarya of the nucleus olfactoretinalis. In the pituitaries of juvenile 30-day-old guppies, GnRH-immunoreactive cells existed in a "juvenile pattern", whereas in adult animals GnRH was recognized in only a few cells. GnRH-immunoreactive fibers were seen in the pituitaries of animals that were 30 days or older. In adult guppies, the ventral and lateral ppd (the gonadotropic region) conta…

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Molecular anatomy of the neuro-immune connection.

Light microscopic immunohistochemistry was employed to elucidate and compare the presence, distribution, and coexistence of various peptides, neuroendocrine markers and enzymes of the catecholamine pathway in nerves supplying lymphoid tissues in a variety of mammalian species. All lymphoid organs and tissues receive innervation by fibers containing dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and/or tyrosine hydroxylase, neural markers like protein gene product 9.5, synaptophysin and neurofilament and a varied spectrum of peptides. The prominent peptides were tachykinins (substance P, neurokinin A), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide/peptide his…

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Peptidergic Innervation in Chronic Pancreatitis

The reason for the generation and continuation of chronic pain in chronic pancreatitis is unclear [6, 10, 11, 13, 61, 117]. Current concepts of the neurobiology of pain point to the possible role of various neuropeptides in pain processing and inflammation [8, 29, 32, 33, 44, 60, 64, 65, 68, 79, 104, 112]. A key function has been ascribed to the proinflammatory and pronociceptive peptides of the tachykininin (TK) family (8, 44, 104, 109]. That the tachykinin substance P (SP) may be involved in chronic inflammatory and painful disease of the gastrointestinal system is evidenced by a selective increase in the density of tachykinin receptors in the bowels of patients suffering from Crohn’s dis…

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