Bacterial translocation following abdominal trauma in humans.

Bacterial translocation in humans has been identified only with small bowel obstruction and in trauma patients. Our aim was to determine whether the occurrence of bacterial translocation correlates with clinical outcome in trauma patients. All patients requiring exploratory celiotomy for abdominal trauma over a 2-month period were considered for the study.

Inhibition of afferent vagus nerves decreases gastric stress lesions.

Capsaicin (Sigma Chemical Co.) is a unique chemical agent that causes degeneration of afferent nerve fibers. Previous conclusions about Capsaicin effects on the gastric mucosal response to stress have not precisely defined which afferent nerves were affected.

Further evidence for the presence of subepithelial nerve cells in the rat ileum--an immunohistochemical study.

Earlier we observed electronmicroscopically an unidentified but neuron-like subepithelial cell in the crypts of the rat ileum. We have now studied some immunocytochemical characteristics of similar cells in the fluorescence microscope by indirect immunofluorescence. Three markers for neuronal tissues were used: 1) Monoclonal Thy-1-antibodies, demonstrated previously to recognize surface antigens of thymus-derived cells and nervous tissue; 2) Tetanus toxin, which binds to the GT1 ganglioside receptor of nerve cells, and to some other neuronal receptor; and 3) Anti-Protein I-IgG, which is monospecific for Protein I located in synaptic vesicle membranes.

Suggestive evidence for a direct innervation of mucosal mast cells.

Mast cells are often observed near nerves and functional evidence suggests an innervation of these cells. In the present ultrastructural study, nerve terminals containing many small clear vesicles and a few large vesicles with dense matrix were observed in direct contact with the plasma membrane of mucosal mast cells in the rat ileum, strongly suggestive of a direct innervation.