An immunohistochemical study of endocrine cells in the abomasum of vagotomized calf

You Are What You (First) Eat

As far back as we can remember, we eat. In fact, we eat before we can remember. Our first meal is amniotic fluid. We swallow it during the first trimester of gestation, and with that, we expose our gut to a universe of molecules. These early molecules have a profound influence on gut and brain function. For example, the taste of the amniotic fluid changes based on the mother's diet. Indeed, recent findings suggest that food preferences begin in utero. Likewise, a baby's first exposure to bacteria, previously thought to be during birth, appears to be in utero as well. And just as postnatal food and microbiota are implicated in brain function and dysfunction, prenatal nutrients and microbes may have a long-lasting impact on the development of the gut-brain neural circuits processing food, especially considering their plasticity during this vulnerable period. Here, we use current literature to put forward concepts needed to understand how the gut first meets the brain, and how this encounter may help us remember food.

Evaluation of differences between breeds for substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and neurofilament 200 in the abomasal wall of cattle

OBJECTIVE

To compare the content of substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and neurofilament 200 in biopsy specimens taken from the abomasal wall of healthy cows of 2 breeds.

SAMPLE POPULATION

Biopsy specimens taken from different sites of the abomasal wall from 20 German Holstein cows and 20 German Fleckvieh cows.

PROCEDURES

Biopsy specimens were examined immunohistochemically, and the content of substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and neurofilament 200 was determined by measuring the immunoreactive areas.

RESULTS

Significant differences between the breeds were detected. Substance P-immuno-reactive area in the corpus abomasi was significantly smaller in the German Holsteins (geometric mean +/- geometric SD, 679 +/- 1.83 microm2) than in the German Fleckvieh cows (1,020 +/- 1.65 microm2). Concerning vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, differences between breeds were not significant. Overall nerve density in the antral abomasal wall was significantly greater in German Holsteins than in German Fleckvieh cows (immunoreactive areas for neurofilament 200 in German Holsteins was 4,842 +/- 1.29 microm2 and in German Fleckvieh cows was 3,333 +/- 1.63 microm2). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-The significantly lower content of substance P in the corpus abomasi could explain why German Holstein cows are predisposed to abomasal displacement, compared with German Fleckvieh cows, in which this disease is a rare finding.

Review article--involvement of gastric APUD cells in chronic renal failure

Uremia leads to a number of metabolic and hormonal disorders induced by renal failure with definite biological and clinical sequels. Most frequently, alimentary disorders are the first to appear, followed by symptoms from other organs and systems. The gastrointestinal tract is a site of synthesis of many compounds that have hormonal or hormonal-like biological activity. These substances are produced by highly-specialised receptor-effector cells, that are dispersed in the gastrointestinal mucosa and classified as APUD cells. The present review is an attempt to make a synthesis of current opinions and views concerning the effect of homeostatic dysfunction of the kidneys on the morphology and action of APUD cells in the stomach.

Mechanisms for regulation of gastrin and somatostatin release from isolated rat stomach during gastric distention

AIM: To investigate the intragastric mechanisms for regulation of gastric neuroendocrine functions during gastric distention in isolated vascularly perfused rat stomach.

METHODS: Isolated vascularly perfused rat stomach was prepared, then the gastric lumen was distended with either 5, 10 or 15 mL pH7 isotonic saline during a period of 20 min. During the distention, the axonal blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX), the cholinergic antagonist atropine, or the putative somatostatin-antagonist cyclo [7-aminoheptanoyl-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr(Bzl)] were applied by vascular perfusion. The releases of gastrin and somatostatin were then examined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS: The graded gastric distention caused a significant volume-dependent decrease in gastrin secretion [-183 ± 75 (5 mL), -385 ± 86 (10 mL) and -440 ± 85 (15 mL) pg/20 min] and a significant increase of somatostatin secretion [260 ± 102 (5 mL), 608 ± 148 (10 mL) and 943 ± 316 (15 mL) pg/20 min]. In response to 10 mL distention, the infusion of either axonal blocker TTX (10^-6 M) or cholinergic blocker atropine (10^-7 M) had a similar affect. They both attenuated the decrease of gastrin release by approximately 50%, and attenuated the increase of somatostatin release by approximately 40%. The infusion of somatostatin-antagonist cyclo [7-aminoheptanoyl-Phe-D-Trp-Lys-Thr(Bzl)] (10^-6 M) attenuated the decrease of gastrin release by about 60%. Furthermore, combined infusion of the somatostatin-antagonist and atropine completely abolished distention-induced inhibition of gastrin release.

CONCLUSION: The present data suggest that distention of isolated rat stomach stimulates somatostatin release via cholinergic and non-cholinergic TTX-insensitive pathways. Both somatostatin and intrinsic cholinergic pathways are responsible for distention-induced inhibition of gastrin release.