Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Immunostaining to Visualize Murine Enteric Nervous System Development
Published on: April 29, 2015
Nervous system development in normal and atresic chick embryo intestine: an immunohistochemical study
E Parisi Salvi1, R Vaccaro, S M Baglaj
1Department of Human Anatomy, University La Sapienza, Via Borelli, 50 00161, Rome, Italy.
Insights
This study investigated how intestinal atresia affects the developing enteric nervous system in chick models. Findings reveal distinct changes in neuropeptide distribution, offering insights into post-surgical motility disorders in neonates.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Intestinal motility disorders are common after neonatal intestinal atresia surgery.
- The development of enteric nervous system alterations in intestinal atresia remains unclear.
- The chick embryo model is valuable for studying enteric nervous system development and congenital bowel diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and substance P (SP) immunoreactivity in the developing enteric nervous system.
- To compare these distributions in normal, sham-operated, and experimentally induced intestinal atresia chick models.
- To understand the relationship between neuropeptide distribution and the pathogenesis of intestinal motility disorders.
Main Methods:
- Studied gut specimens from normal and experimental chick embryos (12-20 days old).
- Experimental groups included embryos surgically induced with intestinal atresia or sham-operated on day 12.
- Immunoreactivity for VIP and SP was assessed in the enteric nervous system plexuses.
Main Results:
- Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and substance P immunoreactivity were present in submucous and myenteric plexuses from day 12 in normal embryos.
- Significant differences in peptide distribution were observed in atresic embryos compared to controls.
- These alterations were most pronounced in the inner enteric nervous system structures proximal to atresia and correlated with dilation severity.
Conclusions:
- The study identified distinct changes in VIP and SP distribution in the developing enteric nervous system of chick embryos with induced intestinal atresia.
- These neuropeptide alterations, particularly in inner enteric structures, may contribute to motility disorders post-atresia surgery.
- Findings in the chick model provide a basis for understanding the mechanisms underlying neonatal intestinal motility dysfunction.
Abstract:
Intestinal motility disorders are a common complication after surgery for neonatal intestinal atresia. Although intestinal atresia causes alterations in the enteric nervous system, especially in its inner structures (nervous fibers in the mucosa, submucous and deep muscular plexuses), how these alterations develop is unclear. The chick model is a useful research tool for investigating the ontogenesis of the enteric nervous system and the pathogenesis of congenital bowel diseases. More information is needed on the overlap between the developing enteric nervous system and intestinal atresia. Because vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and substance P are typical intestinal neuropeptides, and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide acts as a modulator in neurodevelopment and an inhibitor of smooth muscle cell proliferation, our aim in this study was to investigate the distribution of their immunoreactivity in the developing enteric nervous system of normal and experimental chick models. We studied gut specimens excised from normal chick embryos (aged 12-20 days) and experimental chick embryos (aged 15-20 days) that underwent surgical intervention on day 12 to induce intestinal atresia (atresic embryos) or simply to grasp the bowel loop (sham-operated embryos). In normal chick embryos we showed vasoactive intestinal polypeptide and substance P immunoreactivity from day 12 in the submucous and myenteric plexuses. The distribution of peptide immunoreactivity differed markedly in atresic and normal or sham-operated gut embryos. These differences especially affected the inner structures of the enteric nervous system of specimens proximal to atresia and were related to the severity of dilation. Because nerve structures in the gut wall mucosa and submucous and deep muscular plexuses play a role in motility control and stretch sensation in the intestinal wall, our findings in the chick embryo may help to explain how gut motility disorders develop after surgery for neonatal intestinal atresia.
