College of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434103, PR China.
Tissue Cell. 2012 Dec;44(6):373-7. doi: 10.1016/j.tice.2012.06.004. Epub 2012 Jul 15.
Ghrelin, the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, has been found in the cerebellum of many vertebrates and in the gastrointestinal tract of African ostrich chicks, but little is known about its distribution in the cerebellum of the African ostrich. In the present study, the distribution and morphological characteristics of ghrelin-producing cells in the cerebellum of the African ostrich were investigated using immunohistochemistry. The results indicate that the cerebellum is divided into two sections: the outer cerebellar cortex and the inner medulla of cerebellum. The cerebellar cortex comprises a molecular layer, a Purkinje cell layer and a granular layer; ghrelin-immunopositive (ghrelin-ip) cells were localized throughout the entire cerebellum, but sparsely in the medulla. The greatest number of ghrelin-ip cells was found in the stratum granulosum, and the density decreased gradually from the molecular layer to the Purkinje cell layer in the cerebellar cortex. The ghrelin-ip cells were fusiform or irregular polygons and their cytoplasm was stained intensely. These results clearly demonstrate the presence of ghrelin-ip cells in the cerebellum of the African ostrich. It is speculated that ghrelin may have a physiological function in the cerebellum.
生长激素促分泌素受体的内源性配体 ghrelin 已在许多脊椎动物的小脑和非洲鸵鸟雏鸡的胃肠道中被发现，但关于其在非洲鸵鸟小脑中的分布知之甚少。在本研究中，采用免疫组织化学方法研究了非洲鸵鸟小脑内 ghrelin 产生细胞的分布和形态特征。结果表明，小脑分为两部分：外小脑皮质和内小脑髓质。小脑皮质包括分子层、浦肯野细胞层和颗粒层；ghrelin 免疫阳性（ghrelin-ip）细胞定位于整个小脑，但在髓质中稀疏分布。ghrelin-ip 细胞数量最多的是颗粒层，在小脑皮质中从分子层到浦肯野细胞层密度逐渐降低。ghrelin-ip 细胞呈梭形或不规则多边形，细胞质染色强烈。这些结果清楚地表明，ghrelin-ip 细胞存在于非洲鸵鸟的小脑内。推测 ghrelin 可能在小脑中有生理功能。
