Identification and characterization of gastrointestinal hormone immunoreactive cells in the skin and parotoids of Chinese toad Bufo gargarizans.

The skin and skin secretion of Chinese toad Bufo gargarizans have long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. However, the exact types and location of bioactive substances in Bufo gargarizans skin still have not been fully elucidated. The aim of the study was to investigate the distribution and density of six types of gastrointestinal (GI) hormone immunoreactive (IR) cells in the skin and parotoids of Bufo gargarizans. Immunohistochemistry was used for qualitative and semiquantitative analysis of GI hormone presence in the dorsal and ventral skin, and parotoids of eight adult Chinese toads. Six types of IR cells were found: serotonin (5-HT), glucagon (GLU), gastrin (GAS), somatostatin (SS), pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and neuropeptide Y(NPY) IR cells. They were mainly present in the epidermis and skin glands. 5-HT-IR cells were distributed in all layers of epidermis and glands, with higher density in the glands. Glucagon was prominently expressed in the epidermis and the bottle-shaped glands of parotoids; however, it was not present in the granular glands of skin and parotoids. The distributions of GAS and SS-IR cells were similar since they were present mainly in mucous, granular and bottle-shaped glands, while these cell types were absent in the differentiated glands of parotoids. PP-IR cells were predominant in the granular glands and the bottle-shaped glands. The expression of NPY was high in epidermal stratum granulosum and mucous glands of the dorsal skin, the bottle-shaped glands and differentiated glands of parotoids, while NPY-IR was rarely seen in the granular glands of ventral skin, and not present in the granular glands of dorsal skin and parotoids. The expression of several types of GI hormones in the skin and parotoids of Bufo gargarizans varies depending on tissue and type of glands.