Johnson ME, Humenick A, Peterson RA, Costa M, Wattchow DA, Sia TC, Dinning PG, Brookes SJH. Characterisation of parasympathetic ascending nerves in human colon.
Front Neurosci 2022;
16:1072002. [PMID:
36532291 PMCID:
PMC9752816 DOI:
10.3389/fnins.2022.1072002]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
In the human large bowel, sacral parasympathetic nerves arise from S2 to S4, project to the pelvic plexus ("hypogastric plexus") and have post-ganglionic axons entering the large bowel near the rectosigmoid junction. They then run long distances orally or aborally within the bowel wall forming "ascending nerves" or "shunt fascicles" running in the plane of the myenteric plexus. They form bundles of nerve fibres that can be distinguished from the myenteric plexus by their straight orientation, tendency not to merge with myenteric ganglia and greater width.
AIM
To identify reliable marker(s) to distinguish these bundles of ascending nerves from other extrinsic and intrinsic nerves in human colon.
METHODS
Human colonic segments were obtained with informed consent, from adult patients undergoing elective surgery (n = 21). Multi-layer immunohistochemical labelling with neurofilament-H (NF200), myelin basic protein (MBP), von Willebrand factor (vWF), and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), and rapid anterograde tracing with biotinamide, were used to compare ascending nerves and lumbar colonic nerves.
RESULTS
The rectosigmoid and rectal specimens had 6-11 ascending nerves spaced around their circumference. Distal colon specimens typically had 1-3 ascending nerves, with one located near the mesenteric taenia coli. No ascending nerves were observed in ascending colon specimens. GLUT1 antisera labelled both sympathetic lumbar colonic nerves and ascending nerves in the gut wall. Lumbar colonic nerves joined the myenteric plexus and quickly lost GLUT1 labelling, whereas GLUT1 staining labelled parasympathetic ascending nerves over many centimetres.
CONCLUSION
Ascending nerves can be distinguished in the colorectum of humans using GLUT1 labelling combined with NF200.
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