Effect of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on the Ultrastructure and the Serotonin Content of Enterochromaffin Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Rats

흰쥐에서 미주신경자극이 위장관 장크롬친화성세포의 미세구조와 세로토닌 함량에 미치는 영향

The present study was performed to clarify the effect of vagus nerve stimulation on the enterochromaffin(EC) cells in the body of the stomach, the first part of the duodenum and the ceceum of rats by using routine electron microscopy and immunogold labelling. The changes in the ultrastructure and in the labelling density of the gold particles of the EC cells were investigated after vagus nerve stimulation. The vagus nerve was electrically stimulated with a square wave pulse generator for a duration of 5 minutes each, a total of 8 times at 2 minute intervals. Immunogold labelling demonstrated that the epithelial serotonin immunoreactive cells of the gastrointestinal tract are EC cells containing characteristic pleomorphic granules. Immunocytochemically labelled gold particles were largely concentrated in the dense matrix of the granules of the EC cell, and the labelling density of the gold particles considerably increased after the vagus nerve stimulation. Except for a slight activation of Golgi complexes, no remarkable changes in the ultrastructures of the EC cells were noted after the vagus nerve stimulation. The above results suggest that vagus nerve stimulation may activate serotonin biosynthesis in EC cells.