Enteric nervous system alterations in the small intestine of experimental diabetic mice

HONORÉ SM; GENTA SB; VILLECCO EI; SÁNCHEZ SS

Tafí del Valle, Tucumán

Congreso; XXI Jornadas Científicas de la Sociedad de Biología de Tucumán.; 2004

The normal motility of the gastrointestinal tract depends on the enteric nervous system, the muscle cells and the interstitial Cajal cells. The disorders in the gastrointestinal function are common complications in the diabetic patients. At the present, the causes of the changes in the nervous control of the gut in Diabetes mellitus have not yet been established completely. This study was designed to investigate possible alterations in the innervation of smooth muscle cells ofthe mice small intestine, in an experimental model ofstreptozotocin-induced diabetes. The microscopic analysis with Mallory´s stain method reveals the decrease in the myenteric gan­glia density and increased material with Blue Aniline-affinity. The transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of fibrilar collagen inside the nervous ganglia. Also abundant collagens fi­bers are observed surrounding Cajal cells, which are considered the primary target of enteric motor innervation. Immunohistochemi­cal techniques demonstrated both alterations in the expression of extracellular matrix and basement membrane molecules of the muscle cells, like fibronectin, vitronectin, collagen type III, IV, and laminin. These results suggest that the variations observed in the extracellular proteins could be one of the factors responsible for an anomalous nervous transmission, altering the normal function of the small intestine in the diabetic mice