A HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY ON THE SMALL INTENSELY FLUORESCENT(SIF)CELLS IN THE CELIAC GANGLION OF THE GUINEA PIG / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Serial cryostat sections of the celiac ganglion were prepared from 30 guinea pigs.The process of De Da Torre's glyoxylic acid method and different histochmical rea-ctions were performed consecutively on the same section.Under the conditions employ-ed in this experiment,it was shown that the SIF cells,in contrast to the principalneurons,exhibited a more intense reation of adenosine triphosphatase,and a lessintense reaction of monoamine oxidase,lactic dehydrogenase and nonspecific esterase,and a negative reaction of alkaline phosphatase and acetylcholinesterase.The acidphosphatase reaction of most of SIF cells was weak as demonstrated with both theGomori's lead method and the simultaneously coupling method.The SIF cells showedless lipids,nucleic acids and about the same content in tyrosin as compared with theprincipal neurons.These histochemical properties of SIF cells,as well as their morphological charac-teristics of grouping in clusters and surrounding blood vessels,implicated that theyfunction in a different way from that of principal neurons,and probably as endocrineand/or paracrine cells in modulating nervous transmission in the celiac ganglion.