Gauweiler B, Weihe E, Hartschuh W, Yanaihara N
Department of Anatomy, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz, F.R.G.
Neurosci Lett. 1988 Jun 29;89(2):121-6. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(88)90367-9.
By the use of light microscopic (LM) immunohistochemistry, Merkel cells of the mammalian oral mucosa have been examined for the presence and coexistence of some neuropeptides and of the neuroendocrine marker chromogranin A (CG-A). Peptide and CG-A immunophenotypes of oral Merkel cells were found to vary between species and to depend on the developmental stage, as exemplarily revealed in the pig. Oral Merkel cells of adult cat, mouse and pig but not those of adult guinea pig stained for calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), substance P (SP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI). Pairs of adjacent sections alternately stained for SP, CGRP, VIP, PHI or for CG-A revealed mutual coexistence of these peptides and of CG-A (if expressed) in individual Merkel cells of hard palate, gingiva and buccal mucosa. CG-A immunoreactivity was restricted to Merkel cells of cat and pig. In adult pig and cat, a much lower number of Merkel cells stained for CG-A and peptide expression was inverse. These results indicate that the chemical coding of Merkel cells in mammalian oral mucosa is much more complex than previously described and depends on the developmental stage.
通过光学显微镜（LM）免疫组织化学方法，对哺乳动物口腔黏膜中的默克尔细胞进行了检测，以确定某些神经肽和神经内分泌标志物嗜铬粒蛋白A（CG-A）的存在及共存情况。结果发现，口腔默克尔细胞的肽和CG-A免疫表型因物种而异，并取决于发育阶段，以猪为例进行了说明。成年猫、小鼠和猪的口腔默克尔细胞可被降钙素基因相关肽（CGRP）、P物质（SP）、血管活性肠肽（VIP）和肽组氨酸异亮氨酸（PHI）染色，而成年豚鼠的口腔默克尔细胞则不能。对相邻切片分别交替进行SP、CGRP、VIP、PHI或CG-A染色，结果显示，在硬腭、牙龈和颊黏膜的单个默克尔细胞中，这些肽与CG-A（如果表达）相互共存。CG-A免疫反应仅限于猫和猪的默克尔细胞。在成年猪和猫中，染色显示CG-A的默克尔细胞数量要少得多，且肽表达情况相反。这些结果表明，哺乳动物口腔黏膜中默克尔细胞的化学编码比先前描述的要复杂得多，并且取决于发育阶段。
