Study on the distribution of lysozyme-producing cells in rabbit's sacculus rotundus with immunoshistochemistry and immuno-electronmicroscopic cytochemistry methods

The expression of lysozyme in the tissue of rabbit's sacculus rotundus(RSR) (an immune-neuro-endocrine organ at the crossage of ileum and caecum) and its significance in intestinal mucosal immunity were studied. Immunohistochemistry and immuno-electron microscopic cytochemistry staining were used to detect lysozyme's expression in the RSR. Lysozyme-immuno-reactive-positive cells not only distrtbuted in mucosal epithelium and dome epithelium,but also in follicular geminal center, dome, and cap zone of the lymphoid tissue in RSR. Moreover, the cells that contained immuno-reactive substance increased and the extent of the reaction enhanced after the rabbits had been infected with Pasteurella multocida . The electron microscopic observation showed that lysozyme-immuno-reactive substance were in the granule of DNES( disperse or diffuse neuroendocrine system,DNES) cells. Lysozyme-immuno-reactive substance appeared in lymphoid tissue and increased when the body was infected with pathogen. This finding suggested that lysozyme-producing DNES cells might play an important role in intestinal mucosal immunity. It is an new proof for the neuro-endocrine-immune network theory.