Iino Satoshi, Horiguchi Satomi, Horiguchi Kazuhide, Nojyo Yoshiaki
Department of Morphological and Physiological Sciences, University of Fukui Faculty of Medical Sciences, Fukui, Japan.
Arch Histol Cytol. 2007 Oct;70(3):163-73. doi: 10.1679/aohc.70.163.
Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are important regulatory cells generating electrical rhythmicity and transducing neural signals in the gastrointestinal musculature. ICC express the proto-oncogene c-kit, a receptor tyrosine kinase, and can be examined morphologically using the c-Kit antibody. The c-kit gene is allelic with the murine white-spotting locus W, and the c-kit mutation (W mutation) affects various aspects of hematopoietic cells, germ cells, melanocytes, mast cells, and ICC. Heterozygous W/W( v) mutant mice lack a specific type of ICC and have been used to reveal its function. To search for a new model that lacks a specific type of ICC, we examined homozygous W( v)/W( v) black-eyed-white mice that are viable with anemia. Results showed the principal patterns of ICC deficiency were the same between the W/W( v) and W( v)/W( v) mutants. In the stomach of both mice, intramuscular ICC (ICC-IM) were missing and myenteric ICC (ICC-MY) were reduced in number. In the small intestine, the number of ICC-MY was severely reduced in spite of a normal distribution of deep muscular plexus ICC (ICC-DMP). The cecum also exhibited fewer reduced. ICC-IM in the colon were almost entirely missing, whereas ICC-MY were reduced only in the distal colon. In the small intestine and colon, the number of remaining ICC-MY in W( v)/W( v) mice was greater than that in W/W( v) mice. The enteric nervous system of the two mutant mice showed normal characteristics. From these findings, we conclude that W( v)/W( v) mice represent a new genotype that lacks a part of the ICC in its gastrointestinal musculature.
Cajal间质细胞（ICC）是重要的调节细胞，可在胃肠肌肉组织中产生电节律并传导神经信号。ICC表达原癌基因c-kit，一种受体酪氨酸激酶，可使用c-Kit抗体进行形态学检查。c-kit基因与小鼠白斑位点W等位，c-kit突变（W突变）影响造血细胞、生殖细胞、黑素细胞、肥大细胞和ICC的各个方面。杂合W/W(v)突变小鼠缺乏特定类型的ICC，并已用于揭示其功能。为了寻找一种缺乏特定类型ICC的新模型，我们检查了患有贫血但仍存活的纯合W(v)/W(v)黑眼白小鼠。结果表明，W/W(v)和W(v)/W(v)突变体之间ICC缺乏的主要模式相同。在两种小鼠的胃中，肌内ICC（ICC-IM）缺失，肌间ICC（ICC-MY）数量减少。在小肠中，尽管深部肌丛ICC（ICC-DMP）分布正常，但ICC-MY的数量严重减少。盲肠中也显示出较少的减少。结肠中的ICC-IM几乎完全缺失，而ICC-MY仅在远端结肠中减少。在小肠和结肠中，W(v)/W(v)小鼠中剩余的ICC-MY数量多于W/W(v)小鼠。两种突变小鼠的肠神经系统表现出正常特征。从这些发现中，我们得出结论，W(v)/W(v)小鼠代表一种新的基因型，其胃肠肌肉组织中缺乏部分ICC。
