Immunocytochemical demonstration of peptidergic cells in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis with an antiserum to the molluscan cardioactive tetrapeptide FMRF-amide

With an antiserum to the molluscan cardioactive tetrapeptide FMRF-amide immunoreactive perikarya and nerve fibers were identified in the central and peripheral nervous system of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Their localization is described. The same antiserum yielded reactive product in particular cells of the epithelium of the alimentary tract. The use of two different fixatives, glutaraldehyde, and a mixture of glutaraldehyde, picric acid, and acetic acid (GPA) showed that certain nerve cells can be identified only in material fixed with either the one or the other of these two fixatives, a result which indicates that in Lymnaea more than one FMRF-amide-like substance may occur.