IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL VISUALIZATION OF THE ENTERIC NERVOUS-SYSTEM USINGANTIBODIES AGAINST PROTEIN GENE-PRODUCT (PGP) 9.5

Both the investigation of the enteric nervous system and the diagnosis of its pathological changes require reliable staining methods. In ord er to assess the potential of protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 as a mark er for the enteric nervous system, we examined its immunoreaction in w hole-mount preparations of the guinea pig and porcine small intestine, using a rabbit polyclonal antiserum.The immunohistochemical technique reveals the fundamental architectural features of the ganglionic and aganglionic plexuses. Furthermore, it enables a reproducible and diffe rentiated visualization of the enteric nerve cells to be made, so that the various nerve cell types can be morphologically identified.