PEPTIDERGIC INNERVATION OF THE PRIMATE MEIBOMIAN GLAND

Citation
Cw. Chung et al., PEPTIDERGIC INNERVATION OF THE PRIMATE MEIBOMIAN GLAND, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 37(1), 1996, pp. 238-245
Citations number
28
Categorie Soggetti
Ophthalmology
ISSN journal
01460404
Volume
37
Issue
1
Year of publication
1996
Pages
238 - 245
Database
ISI
SICI code
0146-0404(1996)37:1<238:PIOTPM>2.0.ZU;2-U
Abstract
Purpose. To localize and characterize nerves in primate meibomian glan ds using immunohistochemical staining for neuropeptides and neuronal e nzymes. Methods. Upper eyelids were obtained from seven rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and one cynomolgous monkey (Macaca fascicularis). Th e tissues were fixed either by immersion in Zamboni's fixative or by t ranscardiac perfusion with paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde and wer e then postfixed. Cryostat tissue sections of the lids were stained by immunohistochemistry using rabbit antisera to neuron-specific enolase (NSE), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive in testinal polypeptide (VIP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), an d substance P (SP), followed by a fluorescence visualization system. R esults. Used as a marker for the overall nerve distribution, NSE antib odies revealed abundant smooth and varicose nerve fibers closely appos ed to the basement membranes of acini of the meibomian glands. Numerou s nerve fibers near the meibomian gland acini were immunoreactive for NPY and VIP, but nerve fibers containing TH, CGRP, and SP were more sp arse in the meibomian glands. Nerve fibers also were visualized in oth er eyelid structures, including conjunctiva, epidermis, hair follicles , and subconjunctival lymphoid follicles. Conclusions. The meibomian g lands of rhesus and cynomolgous monkeys are richly innervated by diver se nerve fiber types. The immunohistochemical staining suggests a larg ely parasympathetic origin for this innervation, with relatively small er contributions from sympathetic and sensory sources. These findings also suggest that meibomian gland secretion is under the control of di verse neurotransmitter-neuromodulator mechanisms.