Abstract
Nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase positive cells in the chick thymus were studied at the electron-microscopic level. The formazan, a marker for the enzyme nitric oxide synthase, labelled cystic, undifferentiated, endocrine-like and myoid cells in the medulla. Some lymphoid and reticulo-epithelial cells were also lightly labelled. The reaction product was predominantly bound to the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum in all the cells labelled and also to the nuclear envelope and outer membrane of mitochondria. The Golgi apparatus and the plasma membrane were free of the reaction product.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bennet G (1978) Synthesis and migration of glycoproteins in cells of the rat thymus, as shown by radioautography after 3H-fucose injection. Am J Anat 152:223–256
Bigaj J, Pytycz B (1988) Ultrastructure of the APUD-like cells of the frog thymus gland. Folia Histochem Cytobiol 26:105–107
Bredt DS, Hwang PM, Snyder SH (1990) Localization of nitric oxide synthase indicating a neural role for nitric oxide. Nature 347:768–770
Buisson A, Lakhmeche N, Verrecchia C, Plotkine M, Boulu RG (1993) Nitric oxide: an endogenous anticonvulsant substance. Neuro Report 4:444–446
Chan AS (1985) Ultrastructure of epithelial thymic cysts of the chicks. Poul Sci 65:177–182
Clark SL Jr (1966) Cytological evidences of secretion in the thymus. In: Wolstenholme GEW, Porter R (eds) The Thymus: Experimental and Clinical Studies. Ciba Foundation Symposium. Churchill, London, pp 3–38
Fabien N, Anger C, Monier JC (1988) Immunolocalization of thymosin alpha I, thymopoietin and thymulin in mouse thymic epithelial cells at different stages of culture: a light and electron microscopic study. Immunology 63:721–727
Forster ER, Southam E (1993) The intrinsic and vagal extrinsic innervation of the rat stomach contains nitric oxide synthase. NeuroReport 4:275–278
Gulati P, Chan AS, Leong SK (1993) NADPH-diaphorase positive cells in the chick and rat thymus. Thymus 22:117–124
Håkanson R, Larsson LI, Sundler F (1974) Peptide and amine producing endocrine-like cells in the chicken thymus. A chemical, histochemical and electron microscopic study. Histochemistry 39:25–34
Hope BT, Michael GJ, Knigge KM, Vincent SR (1991) Neuronal NADPH diaphorase is a nitric oxide synthase. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88:2811–2814
Kalina M, Plapinger RE, Hoshino Y, Seligman AM (1972) Nonosmiophilic tetrazolium salts that yield osmiophilic, lipophobic formazans for ultrastructural localization of dehydrogenase activity. J Histochem Cytochem 20:685–695
Kamo I, Tada-Kikuchi A, Furukawa S, Iwasaki Y, Nonaka I, Satoyoshi E, Itoh T (1985) Effects of thymic myoid cell culture supernatant on cells from lymphatic tissues. Cell Immunol 94:587–597
Kamo I, Kunishita T, Kikuchi A, Nonaka I, Komiyama A (1993) Characterization of a macrophage lineage cell colony-stimulating factor produced by thymic myoid cells. Immunology 79:103–106
Kolb H, Kolb-Bachofen V (1992) Nitric oxide: a pathogenic factor in autoimmunity. Immunol Today 13:157–160
MacIntyre I, Zaidi M, Towhidul-Alam ASM, Datta HK, Moonga BS, Lidbury PS, Hecker M, Vane JR (1991) Osteoclastic inhibition: An action of nitric oxide not mediated by cyclic GMP. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 88:2936–2940
Mandel T (1968) Ultrastructure of epithelial cells in the medulla of the guinea-pig thymus. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci 46:755–767
McConalogue K, Furness JB (1993) Projections of nitric oxide synthesizing neurons in the guinea-pig colon. Cell Tissue Res 271:545–553
Moncada S, Palmer RMJ, Higgs EA (1991) Nitric oxide: physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology. Pharmacol Rev 43:109–142
Moraux-Moyson A, Scheiff JM, Haumont S (1988) Thymus histogenesis in C3H mice. Thymus 12:89–109
Mundel P, Bachmann S, Bader M, Fisher A, Kummer W, Mayer B, Kriz W (1992) Expression of nitric oxide synthase in kidney macula densa cells. Kidney Int 42:1017–1019
Nathan C (1992) Nitric oxide as a secretory product of mammalian cells. FASEB J 6:3051–3064
Nathan C, Hibbs JB Jr (1991) Role of nitric oxide synthesis in macrophage antimicrobial activity. Curr Opin Immunol 3:65–70
Sanders KM, Ward SM (1992) Nitric oxide as a mediator of non-adrenergic noncholinergic neurotransmission. Am J Physiol 262:G379-G392
Schmidt HHHW, Gagne GD, Nakane M, Pollock JS, Miller MF, Murad F (1992) Mapping of neural nitric oxide synthase in the rat suggests frequent co-localization with NADPH diaphorase but not with soluble guanylyl cyclase, and novel paraneural functions for nitrenergic signal transduction. J Histochem Cytochem 40:1439–1456
Snyder SH (1992) Nitric oxide: First in a new class of neurotransmitters? Science 257:494–496
Suster S, Rosai J (1990) Histology of the normal thymus. Amer J Surg Pathol 14:284–303
Torbek VE (1991) Micro- and ultrastructure of the thymus gland in offspring of alcoholized rats. Arkh Anat Gistol Embriol 100:61–65
Wijngaert FP van de, Kendall MD, Schuurman HJ, Rademakers LHPM, Kater L (1984) Heterogeneity of epithelial cells in the human thymus. Cell Tissue Res 237:227–237
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gulati, P., Chan, AS. & Leong, SK. Ultrastructural localisation of NADPH-diaphorase in the chick thymic medulla. Cell Tissue Res 279, 405–409 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318498
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00318498