Telocytes in the esophageal wall of chickens: a tale of subepithelial telocytes

Poultry Science

Xiangfei Meng¹  Ping Yang²  Abdul Haseeb³  Yongchao Feng³  Qi Wang³  Abid Hussain³ 

[1] Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan;Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mirpur University of Science and Technology (MUST), Mirpur, 10250, AJ&K, Pakistan;MOE Joint International Research Laboratory of Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, 210095, China;

关键词: telocyte;    esophageal wall;    chicken;    TEM;    immunohistochemical;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: The esophagus is a tubular organ which act as a passage for food from oral cavity to stomach. Telocytes (TCs) are a unique type of interstitial cell whose existence in many organs of various species still remains unknown. In the present study, we used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunohistochemistry (CD34, Vimentin, PDGFR-α) to identify subepithelial TCs in the esophageal wall of chickens. TEM micrographs confirmed the presence of TCs in the lamina propria, tunica submucosa, and tunica muscularis muscular layer of the esophageal wall. A large population of TCs were observed just beneath the epithelial layer of the esophageal wall, and the TCs demonstrated structural heterogenicity, featuring various cell body shapes of cell bodies and telopodes (Tps) with podoms, podomeres, and dichotomous branching. Furthermore, a large number of extracellular vesicles were found to be associated with TCs/Tps. Cellular extensions from TCs were observed in close proximity to blood vessels, immune cells, and mucosal glands. In the submucosa, Tps and immune cells were in very close contact. Immunohistochemical results showed that there were CD34+ cells, vimentin+ cells, and PDGFR-α+ cells in the subepithelium, lamina propria, and mucosal glands of the chicken esophageal wall, which was consistent with the TEM results. Overall, our data confirmed the existence of TCs in the chicken esophagus and suggested that TCs might contribute to epithelial regeneration and tissue homeostasis.

【 授权许可】

Unknown