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Distribution of NADPH-diaphorase and nitric oxide synthase-containing neurons in the intramural ganglia of guinea pig urinary bladder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1997

Y. ZHOU
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore
C. K. TAN
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore
E. A. LING
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore
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Abstract

The cell population and distribution of NADPH-diaphorase positive and NOS immunoreactive intramural ganglion cells were examined on stretched whole-mount preparations of the guinea pig urinary bladder which was divided into 3 regions: base, body and dome. The results showed that the highest frequency both of NADPH-d and NOS positive neurons was observed in the bladder base. Cell counts in the whole bladder showed that the number of NADPH-d positive neurons was much more than that of NOS immunoreactive neurons. Using neuron specific enolase (NSE) positive neurons as a reference (100%), NADPH-d positive neurons accounted for 84% while NOS immunoreactive neurons only made up 45% of the total neuronal population. These results, along with previous studies on the function of nitric oxide, suggest that nitric oxide may be involved in the relaxation activity in the bladder base during micturition. The significant difference in the number of NADPH-d positive and NOS immunoreactive neurons suggests that the localisation of one enzyme does not necessarily reflect the presence of the other.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1997

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