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Serotonin‐immunoreactive neurons in the cnidarian Renilla koellikeri
Author(s) -
Umbriaco Denis,
Anctil Michel,
Descarries Laurent
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.902910202
Subject(s) - ectoderm , biology , myoepithelial cell , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , inner ear , context (archaeology) , cnidocyte , cnidaria , immunohistochemistry , embryo , embryogenesis , paleontology , ecology , coral , immunology
The cellular localization of 5‐hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) was investigated in the pennatulid anthozoan Renilla koellikeri by means of peroxidase‐antiperoxidase‐immunohistochemistry with an antiserum against 5‐HT‐formaldehyde‐protein conjugate. In many colonies, strong 5‐HT‐immunoreactivity was displayed by the cell bodies and beaded processes of relatively small neuronlike elements predominating in the outer ectoderm or scattered in the underlying mesoglea. The immunostained neurons of the mesoglea were generally bipolar and their relatively short processes extended toward myoepithelial cells. In the ectoderm, most immunostained neurons appeared pseudounipolar. These cell bodies were endowed with a small, superficially directed, conical appendage reaching the outer surface of the epithelium. Their neurites emerged from the inner pole of the perikarya and branched toward other immunopositive ectodermal and mesogleal nerve cells, or nematocytes in the tentacles. The networklike distribution of the presumed 5‐HT ectodermal neurons varied between the different regions of colonies and along the autozooid column. In the context of earlier observations in cnidarians, these cytological features suggest a sensory as well as a modulatory function for 5‐HT in Renilla koellikeri .