Summary
The indirect immunofluorescence technique was used to determine the distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive and somatostatin-immunoreactive axons in the pulmonary vasculature of the aquatic file snake Acrochordus granulatus. A dense distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive axons was found on the common pulmonary artery, the anterior and posterior pulmonary arteries, and the smaller arteries branching to the lung. The density of these axons appeared greater in arterial preparations taken from more distal regions of the lung. The densest distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive axons was observed on the larger pulmonary veins in all regions of the lung. These axons were observed on the larger veins within the lung parenchyma but not on the smaller veins. Axons and cell bodies were observed in the vagal nerve trunks which run parallel to the pulmonary arteries and veins. In contrast, no somatostatin-immunoreactive axons were observed in any region of the pulmonary vasculature. It is proposed that the perivascular plexus of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive axons may represent part or all of the vagal postganglionic innervation of the pulmonary vasculature.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnes PJ, Cadieux A, Carstairs JR, Greenberg B, Polak JM, Rhoden K (1986) VIP in bovine pulmonary artery: localisation, function and receptor autoradiography. Br J Pharmacol 89:157–162
Berger PJ, Burnstock G (1979) Autonomic nervous system. In: Gans C (ed) Biology of the Reptilia, vol 5. Academic Press, London New York, pp 1–57
Campbell G, Gibbins IL, Morris JL, Furness JB, Costa M, Oliver JR, Beardsley AM, Murphy R (1982) Somatostatin is contained in and released from cholinergic nerves in the heart of the toad Bufo marinus. Neuroscience 7:2013–2023
Della NG, Papka RE, Furness JB, Costa M (1983) Vasoactive intestinal peptide-like immunoreactivity in nerves associated with the cardiovascular system of guinea-pigs. Neuroscience 9:605–619
Dey RD, Shannon WA, Said SI (1983) Localisation of VIP-immunoreactive nerves in airway and pulmonary vessels of dogs, cats, and human subjects. Cell Tissue Res 220:231–238
Donald JA, Lillywhite HB (1989) Adrenergic nerves and 5-hydroxytryptamine-containing cells in the pulmonary vasculature of the aquatic file snake, Acrochordus granulatus. Cell Tissue Res (in press)
Dubé D, Pelletier G (1979) Effect of colchicine on the immunohistochemical localisation of somatostatin in the rat brain. Light and electron microscopic studies. J Histochem Cytochem 27:1577–1581
Frank GW, Bevan JA (1983) Electrical stimulation causes endothelium-dependent relaxation in lung vessels. Am J Physiol 244:793–798
Furness JB, Papka RE, Della NG, Costa M, Eskray RL (1982) Substance P-like immunoreactivity in nerves associated with the vascular system of guinea-pigs. Neuroscience 7:447–459
Gibbins IL, Campbell GD, Morris JL, Nilsson S, Murphy R (1987) Pathway-specific connections between peptide-containing preganglionic and postganglionic neurons in the vagus nerve of the toad (Bufo marinus). J Autonom Nerv Syst 20:43–55
Hamaski Y, Mojarad M, Said SI (1983a) Relaxant action of VIP on cat pulmonary artery: comparison with acetylcholine, isoproterenol, and PGE1. J Appl Physiol 54:1607–1611
Hamaski Y, Saga T, Said SI (1983b) Autonomic innervation of pulmonary artery: Evidence for non-adrenergic non-cholinergic relaxation. Am Rev Resp Dis 127:300
Ju G, Hökfelt T, Brodin E, Fahrenkrug J, Fischer JA, Frey P, Elde RP, Brown JC (1987) Primary sensory neurons of the rat showing calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity and their relation to substance P-, somatostatin-, galanin-, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide- and cholecystokinin-immunoreactive ganglion cells. Cell Tissue Res 247:417–431
Lillywhite HB (1987) Circulatory adaptations of snakes to gravity. Am Zool 27:81–95
Lillywhite HB, Donald JA (1987) Neurovascular structure and function in the elongate lung of an aquatic snake. Physiologist 30:190
Lillywhite HB, Smits AW (1985) Diving adaptations in the aquatic file snake, Acrochordus granulatus. Physiologist 28:283
Nilsson S (1983) Autonomic nerve function in the vertebrates. Springer, New York Berlin Heidelberg
Said SI, Rosenberg RN (1982) Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide: Abundant immunoreactivity in neural cell lines and normal nervous tissues. Science 192:907–908
Smith DG, MacIntyre DH (1979) Autonomic innervation of the visceral and vascular smooth muscle of a snake lung (Ophidia: Colubridae). Comp Biochem Physiol 62C: 187–191
Smith RV, Satchell DG (1987) Innervation of the lung of the Australian snake-necked tortoise, Chelodonia longicollis. Comp Biochem Physiol 87C:439–444
Wharton J, Gulbenkian S (1987) Peptides in the mammalian cardiovascular system. Experientia 43:821–832
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Donald, J.A., Lillywhite, H.B. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive nerves in the pulmonary vasculature of the aquatic file snake Acrochordus granulatus . Cell Tissue Res. 255, 585–588 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218794
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218794