Effects of combined pre- and post-natal protein deprivation on the myenteric plexus of the esophagus of weanling rats:A histochemical,quantitative and ultrastructural study

AIM: To evaluate the effects of protein deprivation on the myenteric plexus of the esophagus of weanling rats. METHODS: Pregnant female Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups: nourished (N),receiving normal diet,and undernourished (D),receiving a protein-deprived diet,which continued after birth. At twenty-one days of age,13 esophagi from each group were submitted to light microscopy and morphometrical analysis employing the NADH diaphorase,NADPH diaphorase and acetylcholinesterase techniques. Three other esophagi from each group were evaluated with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). RESULTS: In both the NADH- and the NADPH-reactive mounts,the neurons of the N mounts were more intensely stained,while in the D esophagi only the larger neurons were reactive. Many myenteric neurons of N were intensely reactive for AChE activity but only a few neurons of D exhibited these aspects. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that the granular reticulum of N showed large numbers of ribosomes aligned on the outer surface of its regularly arranged membrane while the ribosomes of D were disposed in clusters. The chromatin was more homogeneously scattered inside the neuron nucleus of N as well as the granular component of the nucleolus was evidently more developed in this group. Statistically significant differences between N and D groups were detected in the total estimated number of neurons stained by the NADPH technique. CONCLUSION: The morphological and quantitative data shows that feeding with protein-deprived diet in 21-d old rats induces a delay in the development of the myenteric neurons of the esophagus.

Effects of perinatal protein deprivation and recovery on esophageal myenteric plexus

AIM:To evaluate effects of preand postnatal protein deprivation and postnatal recovery on the myenteric plexus of the rat esophagus. METHODS: Three groups of young Wistar rats (aged 42 d) were studied: normalfed (N42), proteindeprived (D42), and proteinrecovered (R42). The myenteric neurons of their esophagi were evaluated by histochemical reactions for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), nitrergic neurons (NADPH)diaphorase and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), immunohistochemical reaction for vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and ultrastructural analysis by transmission electron microscopy.RESULTS: The cytoplasms of large and medium neurons from the N42 and R42 groups were intensely reactive for NADH. Only a few large neurons from the D42 group exhibited this aspect. NADPH detected in the D42 group exhibited low reactivity. The AChE reactivity was diffuse in neurons from the D42 and R42 groups. The density of large and small varicosities detected by immunohistochemical staining of VIP was low in ganglia from the D42 group. In many neurons from the D42 group, the double membrane of the nuclear envelope and the perinuclear cisterna were not detectable. NADH and NADPH histochemistry revealed no group differences in the prof ile of nerve cell perikarya (ranging from 200 to 400 μm2).CONCLUSION: Protein deprivation causes a delay in neuronal maturation but postnatal recovery can almost completely restore the normal morphology of myenteric neurons.