|
|||||
|
|
First demonstration of the neuroepithelial cells and their chemical code in the accessory respiratory organ and the gill of the sharptooth catfish,Clarias gariepinus: A preliminary study |
|
| Authors: | Giacomo Zaccone John Maina Antonino Germanà Giuseppe Montalbano Gioele Capillo Luisa Aragona Michał J. Kuciel Eugenia Rita Lauriano José M. Icardo |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section S.A.S.T.A.S., University of Messina, Messina, Italy;2. Department of Zoology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa;3. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;4. Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy;5. Poison Information Centre and Laboratory Analysis, Department of Toxicology and Environmental Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland;6. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology Polıgono de Cazona, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain |
| Abstract: | Available studies that have examined O2 sensing in fish have indicated that oxygen-sensitive neuroepithelial cells (NECs) are O2 sensors in the gills and initiate cardiorespiratory reflexes in aquatic vertebrates. This is the first study describing the occurrence of NECs in accessory respiratory organs in the air-breathing catfish Clarias gariepinus. Immunocytochemical stainings with specific neuronal markers such as nNOS, VAchT, 5-HT and TH have been shown to be very useful for location and distribution of these cells in the gill fans and suprabranchial chamber that take origin from the transformation of the gill tissue. But the response of these putative O2 chemoreceptors, their role in the respiratory reflexes and their innervation await investigation. |
| Keywords: | accessory respiratory organ Clarias gariepinus neuroepithelial cells neurotransmitter substances nitric oxide |