Interstitial cells of Cajal associated with the submucosal plexus of the Guinea-pig stomach

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) form specialized networks in the gastrointestinal tract that coordinate cellular communications between nerves and smooth muscle cells. However, little is known about ICC in the gut mucosa or submucosa. Here, we report for the first time that Kit-immunoreactive ICC are associated with the submucosal (Meissner's) plexus of the Guinea-pig stomach. In longitudinal sections along the greater curvature of the gastric corpus, short spindle-shaped ICC of the submucosal plexus (ICC-SP) were located around the PGP9.5-immunoreactive nerve elements in the submucosa. Observations of whole-mount preparations clearly demonstrated Kit-immunoreactive bipolar or multipolar cells with long cytoplasmic processes about 100 μm in length. Such cells had typical characteristics of ICC, confirming that they were not mast cells, which are also Kit-immunoreactive residents of the submucosal connective tissue space. Although some ICC-SP surrounded parts of the submucosal plexus, they did not appear to form wide extensions of the cellular network, suggesting that they acted locally. The demonstration of ICC-SP in the submucosal connective tissue space suggests that they may contribute to the regulation of secretion, absorption and transportation of fluids in the mucosa.