Immunoreactive nerve fibers in the nasal mucosa. An experimental study on neuropeptides Y, calcitonin gene-related peptide and galanin.

The presence of immunoreactive nervous fibers in the respiratory nasal mucosa of rats and guinea pigs was studied by means of a modified peroxidase antiperoxidase technique for whole mounting. The fibers with neuropeptide Y (NPY) always appeared in the walls of blood vessels, while the fibers immunoreactive to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were found in nerve tracts near the vessels and the acini of seromucous glands as thick networks located in the subepithelial layers. Immunoreactivity (IR) for galanin was found in the mucosa studied. The findings after surgical and chemical denervation of the trigeminal and superior cervical ganglia may support the theory that the fibers with NPY are of a sympathetic nature with the superior cervical ganglion their site of origin, while the CGRP-IR fibers may have a sensory nature.