MAPPING THE DISTRIBUTION OF NEUROEPITHELIAL BODIES OF THE RAT LUNG - A WHOLE-MOUNT IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL APPROACH

We report an immunohistochemical method for mapping the distribution o f neuroepithelial bodies (NEBs) in whole-mount preparations of the int rapulmonary airways. The lungs of 8- and 50-day-old male Sprague-Dawle y rats were fixed with ethanol-acetic acid by intratracheal instillati on, The major axial airway path of the infracardiac lobe was exposed a nd isolated by microdissection, NEBs were identified by calcitonin gen e-related peptide immunoreactivity and their distribution mapped by ge neration and branchpoint number, A distinct pattern was noted with gre ater prevalence of NEBs in proximal airway generations compared with m ore distal airways. No significant difference was noted in the distrib ution pattern or absolute number of NEBs between neonates and adults w hen compared by airway generation. NEBs were found more frequently on the ridges of the bifurcation than in other regions of the bifurcating airway wall, The ease of identification of total numbers of NEBs and their specific location by airway generation in whole-mount preparatio ns of the bronchial tree completely removes the necessity of examining multiple sections and performing extensive morphometric procedures. W hole-mount airway preparations allow for the analysis and comparison o f larger sample sizes per experimental group without labor-intensive a pproaches. The application of this method should enhance our knowledge of the role of NEBs in lung development and in response to disease.