Ultrastructure of nerve endings and synaptic junctions in rabbit intrapulmonary neuroepithelial bodies: a single and serial section analysis.

This study on the innervation of rabbit intrapulmonary neuroepithelial bodies (NEB) was undertaken to obtain more information about the detailed ultrastructure of morphologically afferent and efferent intracorpuscular NEB nerve endings, the extent to which they are in cytoplasmic continuity with one another, and the structure of the synaptic junctions they form with the NEB corpuscular cells. As in earlier studies, NEB exhibit intracorpuscular nerve endings containing predominantly either mitochondria (morphologically afferent) or synaptic vesicles (morphologically efferent). Both types of nerve endings form synaptic junctions with the NEB corpuscular cells, arranged so that a NEB corpuscular cell is the presynaptic element and the nerve ending the postsynaptic element. This arrangement implies that NEB can transmit nerve impulses to the central nervous system, thus arguing in favour of their hypothetical neuroreceptor function. Moreover, on serial sections, the morphologically afferent and efferent intracorpuscular nerve endings are often found in cytoplasmic continuity. Hence, transduction of stimuli in the NEB implies concomitant efferent modulation of the NEB corpuscular cells. In conclusion, intrapulmonary NEB apparently function as neuroreceptors that are locally modulated by axon reflexes.