[Expression of neuron-specific enolase and synaptophysin in esophageal development of human embryos].

Objective: To investigate the expression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and synaptophysin(SYN) proteins in different developmental stages of human embryonic esophagus.

Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expressions of NSE and SYN proteins in embryonic esophagus tissues of fetuses of 2, 3 and 4 month gestational age (n=16). One-way ANOVA and LSD-t test were employed to compare the staining intensity and number of positive expression cells in embryonic esophageal tissues of different gestational age.

Results: In fetuses with 2, 3 and 4 months of gestation, the number of NSE-positive nerve cells in the myenteric nerve plexus and submucosa of human embryonic esophageal tissues were 18.38 ± 8.37, 25.00 ± 11.54 and 38.00 ± 15.09, respectively; the staining intensity of NSE-positive nerve cells and nerve fibers in myenteric nerve plexus and submucosa of embryonic esophageal tissues were 74.38 ± 14.93, 62.25 ± 18.59 and 56.44 ± 14.70, respectively. NSE-positive cells were detected in the esophageal epithelium only at the third month. In the fetuses at 2, 3 and 4 months of gestation, SYN in all layers of esophageal tissue were positively or strong positively expressed, especially in the myenteric plexus and submucosal plexus. The staining intensity of SYN-positive cells in embryonic esophagus tissues of 2, 3 and 4 month gestation were 54.69 ± 9.34, 51.84 ± 6.10 and 46.41 ± 6.44, respectively.

Conclusion: SYN and NSE may be involved in the regulation of nerve system of esophageal tissues during the human embryonic development.