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l-Aspartate-immunoreactive neurons in the rat enteric nervous system

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Abstract

l-Aspartate (l-Asp) is an excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. In the present study, we demonstrate, for the first time, the presence of l-Asp in a particular neuronal cell class in the enteric nervous system (ENS). Scattered l-Asp-immunoreactive neuronal cell bodies and nerve fibers were found extensively in both the myenteric and submucosal plexus throughout the small and large intestines. Many l-Asp-immunoreactive nerve fibers, which originated from intrinsic nerve cell bodies, were found in the ganglia and interconnecting nerve bundles. Electron microscopy revealed that l-Asp-immunoreactive terminals frequently formed synaptic contacts with intrinsic nerve cells, suggesting that some l-Asp-immunoreactive neurons might function as interneurons. These results suggest that l-Asp-immunoreactive neurons play a significant role within the ENS to control intestinal functions. The presence of enteric l-Asp-immunoreactive neurons provides strong support for the proposal that l-Asp is a neuromodulator in the rat ENS.

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Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to Mr. S. Ogawa (Electron Microscopy Research Center) for his technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy II, Mie University School of Medicine, 2-174 Edobashi, Tsu, Mie, 514-0001, Japan

    Masato Nagahama & Ning Ma

  2. Aichi Human Service Center, Institute for Developmental Research, 713-8 Kamiya-cho, Kasugai, Aichi, 480-0392, Japan

    Reiji Semba

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  1. Masato Nagahama
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  2. Ning Ma
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Correspondence to Masato Nagahama.

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Nagahama, M., Ma, N. & Semba, R. l-Aspartate-immunoreactive neurons in the rat enteric nervous system. Cell Tissue Res 318, 483–492 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-004-0961-z

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