help button home button
AJRCMB
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sparrow, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Everett, A. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sparrow, M. P.
Right arrow Articles by Everett, A. W.

Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., Vol 13, No. 5, 11 1995, 518-525.

Innervation and function of the distal airways in the developing bronchial tree of fetal pig lung

MP Sparrow, SP Warwick and AW Everett
Department of Physiology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Australia.

We investigated whether the airways of the lungs from 8 to 10 g fetal pigs (the pseudoglandular phase) have a nerve supply, are functionally innervated and narrow in response to electrical field stimulation and to agonists. Measurements of airway narrowing were made by real-time video imaging of intact isolated bronchial tree freed of associated parenchyma and vasculature. The distal (100 to 300 microns lumen diameter) and terminal (approximately 25 to 50 microns lumen diameter) airways narrowed strongly to acetylcholine and histamine, to within 50 to 80 microns of the base of the epithelial buds. Electrical field stimulation produced rapid narrowing followed by relaxation, and responses were blocked by atropine and tetrodotoxin, indicating a functional cholinergic innervation. Transient periods (3 to 5 min) of spontaneous narrowing were seen in localized regions of the bronchial tree which moved the lung liquid to and fro. An extensive nerve supply to the bronchial tree was seen after immunocytochemical staining of tissue whole mounts with anti-neurofilament. Nerves supplied the distal and terminal airways with fine branches penetrating the smooth muscle of the airway wall. A few fibers extended to the growing edge of the smooth muscle at the very base of the epithelial bud. The smooth muscle was cylindrically arranged around the airway wall all the way to the epithelial bud. We propose that onset of function of smooth muscle and its innervation occurs shortly after differentiation of the smooth muscle at the growing tips of the airways.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio.Home page
A. J. Burns, N. Thapar, and A. J. Barlow
Development of the Neural Crest-Derived Intrinsic Innervation of the Human Lung
Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., March 1, 2008; 38(3): 269 - 275.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
S. M. Smiley-Jewell, M. U. Tran, A. J. Weir, Z. A. Johnson, L. S. Van Winkle, and C. G. Plopper
Three-dimensional mapping of smooth muscle in the distal conducting airways of mouse, rabbit, and monkey
J Appl Physiol, October 1, 2002; 93(4): 1506 - 1514.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
A. J. Halayko and J. Solway
Plasticity in Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscle: Invited Review: Molecular mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in smooth muscle cells
J Appl Physiol, January 1, 2001; 90(1): 358 - 368.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio.Home page
K. T. Nakamura and P. B. McCray Jr.
Fetal Airway Smooth-Muscle Contractility and Lung Development . A Player in the Band or Just Someone in the Audience?
Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., July 1, 2000; 23(1): 3 - 6.
[Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio.Home page
J. C. Schittny, G. Miserocchi, and M. P. Sparrow
Spontaneous Peristaltic Airway Contractions Propel Lung Liquid through the Bronchial Tree of Intact and Fetal Lung Explants
Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., July 1, 2000; 23(1): 11 - 18.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
T. UHLIG, J. H. WILDHABER, N. CARROLL, D. J. TURNER, P. R. GRAY, N. DORE, A. L. JAMES, and P. D. SLY
Pulmonary Vascular Congestion Selectively Potentiates Airway Responsiveness in Piglets
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., April 1, 2000; 161(4): 1306 - 1313.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio.Home page
M. Weichselbaum and M. P. Sparrow
A Confocal Microscopic Study of the Formation of Ganglia in the Airways of Fetal Pig Lung
Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., November 1, 1999; 21(5): 607 - 620.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Bio.Home page
M. P. Sparrow, M. Weichselbaum, and P. B. McCray Jr.
Development of the Innervation and Airway Smooth Muscle in Human Fetal Lung
Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol., April 1, 1999; 20(4): 550 - 560.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
J. SOLWAY, S. M. FORSYTHE, A. J. HALAYKO, J. E. VIEIRA, M. B. HERSHENSON, and B. CAMORETTI-MERCADO
Transcriptional Regulation of Smooth Muscle Contractile Apparatus Expression
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., November 1, 1998; 158(2007): S100 - S108.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Appl. Physiol.Home page
M. Lei, H. Ghezzo, M. F. Chen, and D. H. Eidelman
Airway smooth muscle orientation in intraparenchymal airways
J Appl Physiol, January 1, 1997; 82(1): 70 - 77.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc. Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.
Copyright © 1995 American Thoracic Society. 		  ATS Coding and Billing Quarterly