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An immunohistochemical study of Carassius RF amide in the stomach, intestine, and pancreas of the Japanese butterfly ray, Gymnura japonica

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Abstract

Carassius RFamide (C-RFa) is a brain-gut peptide, isolated originally from the brain of a teleost fish, Japanese crucian carp (Carassius auratus langsdorfii). It is a novel FMRFamide-related peptide sharing homologies with mammalian prolactin-related peptide. We observed the localization of C-RFa-like immunoreactivity (C-RFa-IR) in the stomach, intestine, and pancreas of Japanese butterfly ray using an immunohistochemical technique. In the whole gastrointestinal tract, C-RFa-IR was observed in smooth muscle cells, and in the Meissner’s and Auerbach’s plexus ganglia. Furthermore, in the stomach C-RFa-IR was also observed at the bottom of the fundic glands in both the body and pyloric region. In the intestine C-RFa-IR was observed in epithelial cells at the tip of mucosal folds. In the pancreas, C-RFa-IR was observed in islet cells. Thus, we suggest that ray C-RFa may have functional roles in both peripheral neurotransmission and endocrine function of the gastroenteropancreatic system.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. M. Fujimoto for permission to use his antibody against C-RFa. We also thank Mr. Kouji Tomimuro and Mr. Takeshi Kiyoi, Department of Biological Science, Shimane University, for technical assistance.

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  1. Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Life and Environmental Science, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu, Matsue, 690-8504, Japan

    Asuka Inoue & Hideo Akiyoshi

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  1. Asuka Inoue
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  2. Hideo Akiyoshi
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Correspondence to Hideo Akiyoshi.

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Inoue, A., Akiyoshi, H. An immunohistochemical study of Carassius RF amide in the stomach, intestine, and pancreas of the Japanese butterfly ray, Gymnura japonica . Ichthyol Res 57, 223–230 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-010-0156-4

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