Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Time course of passively transferred EAAN. IgG was injected intraperitoneally on day 0. Data are expressed as mean with SEM (vertical bar). a, Rabbit IgG specific for ganglionic AChR was detectable in mouse plasma 3 weeks after injection. b, Body weight for each mouse is expressed relative to experimental day 0. Mice injected with ganglionic AChR IgG (filled circles) lose weight rapidly for several days and then regain weight. Asterisks indicate days at which their weights differed from control IgG recipient mice (open squares). *p < 0.01; **p < 0.0001. c, EAAN mice have marked urinary retention. Bladder size is expressed as weight of the bladder and its contents at autopsy. Mean bladder weight of control mice (solid horizontal line) and 95% confidence intervals (broken lines) are shown for comparison.
- Figure 2.
Overt signs of EAAN. a, Pupils of mice receiving control IgG were constricted in response to light. Mice with EAAN (3 d after ganglionic AChR IgG injection) had dilated pupils that responded poorly to light. b, At autopsy on day 4 after injection, mice receiving control IgG have a normal appearing bowel and empty bladder (*). Mice with EAAN show marked urinary retention (*) and dilated loops of large and small bowel. The proximal small bowel is colored resulting from oral administration of blue dye 30 min before autopsy.
- Figure 3.
Autonomic neurophysiology in EAAN. Membrane potential of SMG neurons recorded using intracellular sharp microelectrodes. All SMG neurons from mice injected with rabbit control IgG (Control) showed spontaneous f-EPSPs and APs. When the attached segment of colon is distended (colonic intraluminal pressure is shown in the top trace), the frequency of f-EPSPs and APs increased. SMG neurons from mice injected 2-3 d earlier with rabbit ganglionic AChRIgG (EAAN) had normal resting membrane potential, but many showed no spontaneous or distension-evoked f-EPSPs or APs. Distention of the colon did elicit a slow membrane depolarization. In SMG neurons tested 27 d after injecting ganglionic AChRIgG (Recovery), spontaneous and distension-evoked f-EPSPs were present, and the frequencies of f-EPSPs and APs were higher than in control ganglia.
- Figure 4.
Passive transfer of human IgG. a, b, Gastrointestinal transit (a) and bladder size (b) were assessed 4 d after a single injection of human IgG. Mice injected with IgG from patient 2 (n = 5) and mice injected with IgG from patient 3 (n = 4) had reduced transit and increased bladder size. *p < 0.05.
Tables
- Table 1.
Anatomical and physiological measures of autonomic function in passive transfer EAAN using rabbit IgG
Control EAANa Recoveryb Initial body weight (gm; day 0) 25.1 ± 0.4 (29) 24.8 ± 0.5 (42) Weight change (gm; day 3)c −0.88 ± 0.25 (28) −3.26 ± 0.32 (39)* Resting heart rate (bpm) 749 ± 3 (21) 732 ± 8 (23) 759 ± 4 (5) rMSSD (μsec) 836 ± 53 (21) 542 ± 34 (23)* 728 ± 70 (5) Gl transit (percentage of small bowel) 53.3 ± 4.1% (21) 30.8 ± 2.4% (22)* 53.4 ± 9.3% (5) Bladder weight (mg) 79.0 ± 10.4 (23) 246.6 ± 23.2 (31)* 49.6 ± 14.6 (5) Stomach weight (mg) 305.4 ± 13.9 (21) 443.9 ± 20.6 (24)* 436.4 ± 11.6 (5)* Rest NE (ng/ml) 3.69 ± 0.96 (9) 4.89 ± 1.30 (10) Stress NE (ng/ml) 19.01 ± 1.33 (22) 5.18 ± 0.76 (24)* 11.24 ± 2.25 (5) -
All data are mean ± SEM (number of mice). rMSSD, Root mean square of successive differences in heart period, a measure of heart-rate variability; NE, plasma norepinephrine concentration. *p<0.0001 compared with control mice (Wilcoxon rank sum test).
-
↵ a Except for body weight, data are from experimental days 2-7.
-
↵ b Data are from EAAN mice examined on experimental days 14-27.
-
↵ c Data are from all mice except those killed before experimental day 3.
-
Control EAAN (days 2 and 3) Recovered (day 27) Spontaneous f-EPSPs 30/30 17/34 15/15 Evoked f-EPSPsa 30/30 17/34 15/15 Evoked s-EPSPa 19/30 21/34b 11/15 Spontaneous f-EPSP frequency (min−1) 197.5 ± 50.5 (30) 33.2 ± 7.7 (17)* 380.5 ± 55.0 (15)* Evoked f-EPSP frequency (min−1)b 576.6 ± 93.8 (30) 173.5 ± 38.5 (17)* 1020.9 ± 92.1 (15)* Amplitude of evoked s-EPSPs (mV)b 2.5 ± 0.3 (19) 2.8 ± 0.4 (21) 3.5 ± 0.5 (11) -
Data are expressed as neurons responding per number tested, or as mean ± SEM (number of cells analyzed). *p<0.05 compared with control (t test).
-
↵ a Responses evoked by colonic distention.
-
↵ b Ten neurons exhibited s-EPSPs but no f-EPSPs in response to colonic distention. The difference in number of s-EPSP responses compared with control mice was not statistically significant.
-
