Regional variation in ICC distribution, pacemaking activity and neural responses in the longitudinal muscle of the murine stomach

Intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC‐IM) play a critical role in enteric neural regulation of the circular muscle layer in the stomach, but no studies have been performed on the longitudinal layer. Kit immunohistochemistry was used to examine ICC‐IM in the longitudinal muscle layer of the murine corpus and antrum, and it revealed marked heterogeneity in the distribution of ICC‐IM in longitudinal muscles. In the corpus, ICC‐IM were found along the greater curvature near the fundus. ICC‐IM decreased in density in the circumferential axis toward the lesser curvature and in the longitudinal axis toward the antrum. ICC‐IM were absent from the longitudinal layer of the antrum. Double labelling with markers for specific classes of enteric motor neurones revealed that cholinergic and nitrergic motor neurones formed close contacts with ICC‐IM in the corpus but not in the antrum. Enteric nerve stimulation evoked prominent cholinergic excitatory and nitrergic inhibitory responses in longitudinal muscles of the corpus, but not in the antrum of wild‐type animals. Cholinergic and nitrergic nerves were also present in W/W V mice, but functional innervation of the longitudinal muscle layer by these nerves in the corpus and antrum were absent. The data show that cholinergic and nitrergic neurotransmission only occurs in the gastric longitudinal layer in regions where ICC‐IM are present. In regions, such as the corpus, where ICC‐IM are common, robust neural responses are present, but the reduced density of ICC‐IM near the lesser curvature and in the distal stomach leads to reduced neural regulation in these gastric regions.