Summary
The fine structure of neuronal perikarya and processes containing VIP-like immunoreactive material in the colon of patients with Hirschsprung's disease was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy. No VIP-like immunoreactive terminals were found in Auerbach's plexus of the ganglionic segment. However, VIP-like immunoreactive preterminal axons were frequently found to make synaptic contact with both immunoreactive and non-immunoreactive elements within Meissner's plexus. Therefore, the function of the VIP neurons in Auerbach's plexus seems to differ from that in Meissner's plexus. In the oligoganglionic segment, there were a few VIP-like immunoreactive processes, but no VIP-like immunoreactive synaptic formations. VIP-like immunoreactive processes were rarely encountered in the aganglionic segment. In both the oligo-and aganglionic segments, bowel relaxation is considered to be disturbed due to the lack of synaptic contacts of VIP-like immunoreactive neurons with other neuronal components.
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This work was supported in part by a grant (no. 57370002) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan
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Tsuto, T., Obata-Tsuto, H.L., Iwai, N. et al. Fine structure of neurons synthesizing vasoactive intestinal peptide in the human colon from patients with Hirschsprung's disease. Histochemistry 93, 1–8 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00266839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00266839