Nerve growth factor content is increased in the rectal mucosa of children with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome
Neurogastroenterology & Motility, 06/04/2012
Clinical Article
Willot S et al. – Regardless of inflammation, neurotrophin nerve growth factor (NGF) content is increased in rectal mucosa of diarrhea–predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) children.
Methods- Rectal biopsies from children (median age: 14 years) with diarrhea-predominant IBS (n = 11) and controls (n=14) were studied.
- MC and neuronal mucosal structures were identified by tryptase, CD117 and PGP9.5 immunoreactivity.
- Inflammatory cells (neutrophils, eosinophils, and lymphocytes) were counted.
- NGF was quantified in situ by ELISA.
- No mucosal inflammation was detected in IBS.
- MC infiltration and number of neuronal bodies were not significantly different between IBS and controls.
- The distance between MC and nerve fibers was not different in IBS compared with controls (5.2 ± 0.3 vs 5.0 ± 0.3 μm).
- Number of MC in close proximity to nerve fibers (<5 μm) was not different in the two groups.
- However, in IBS, NGF content was higher than controls (0.93 ± 0.3 vs 0.62 ± 0.3 pg mg-1 protein, P<0.05) and significantly correlated with MC number.
