Stimulation of cardiac mechanoreceptors during volume expansion elicits reflex compensatory changes in sympathetic nerve activity (SNA). The hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and nucleus of the tractus solitarius (NTS) are autonomic regions known to contribute to this reflex. Both of these nuclei project to the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), critical in the tonic generation of S...

A patient with early achalasia presented spontaneous strong rhythmic non-propulsive contractions at ~7/min, independent of swallows. Our aim was to evaluate characteristics of the rhythmic contractions, provide data on the structure of pacemaker cells in the esophagus and discuss a potential role for interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the origin of rhythmicity. We hypothesize that intramuscul...

In the 1970s, by using classic histological methods, close topographical relationships between special areas of enteric ganglia and capillaries were shown in the pig. In this study, by application of double and triple immunohistochemistry, we confirmed this neurovascular interface and demonstrated that these zones are mainly confined to nitrergic neurons in the myenteric and the external submuc...

The enzyme NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d; a marker of NO producing or nitrergic neurons) and the neuropeptide VIP have been detected in the nerve structures of the hen oviduct by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques performed on cryostatic sections and whole mount preparations. In the upper four segments of the oviduct, i.e. the infundibulum, magnum, isthmus and shell gland, nitrergic a...

A nitric oxide (NO)-like product of thel-arginine NO synthase pathway has been shown to be a major inhibitory neurotransmitter that is involved in the slow component of the inhibitory junction potential (IJP) elicited by stimulation of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic nerves. However, the exact nature of the nitrergic transmitter, the role of cGMP, and the involvement of a potassium or a chloride ...

– The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a key cellular signalling system that has been implicated in the regulation of diverse cellular functions. Importantly, growing evidence suggests that the biological actions of the ECS may, in part, be mediated through its ability to regulate the production and/or release of nitric oxide, a ubiquitous bioactive molecule, which functions as a versatile signa...

Effects of acupuncture treatment on mechanical responses produced by transmural nerve stimulation (TNS) and acetylcholine (ACh) were investigated in circular smooth muscle preparations isolated from the antrum of the stomach of genetically hyperglycemic rats. While control rats had blood glucose levels of about 140 mg/dl, this was approximately tripled in the genetically hyperglycemic rats, but...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in the central nervous system, but this small labile substance also seems to serve as a peripheral neurotransmitter. Abundant evidence is now available that NO, synthesized from L-arginine by NO synthase (NOS), is a nonadrenergic noncholinergic relaxant transmitter of gastrointestinal smooth muscle. Electrically induced nonadrenergic no...

BACKGROUND The prevalence of obesity has increased at alarming rates, particularly because of the increased consumption of high-fat diets (HFDs). The influence of HFDs on intrinsic innervation and the intestinal wall has not been fully characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the morpho-quantitative aspects of myenteric neurons and the wall of the small intestine in mice fed a HF...