Immunohistochemical localization and distribution of Cajal cell in the intestine of rabbit

A total of ten male local rabbits were used, a one centimeter was taken from the small intestine as well as from the colon. H&E and Masson's Trichrome stains were used to stain the slides. Location, shape and size, number/section in each segment of the intestine, and surface area of nerve plexuses/ µm² were studied. The CD117 was used to express the interstitial cell of Cajal (ICC). Myenteric plexus (MP) morphology and distribution in the intestine provide interpretation for intestinal peristaltic motility. The current study showed that Auerbach's plexuses (AP) had an oval or elliptical shape in the duodenum and ileum while appearing spherical in the jejunum and located either between two layers of tunica muscularis or within the internal circular muscular layer (ICML). In contrast, the AP of the colon appeared as a line of neurons in the exact location along the whole wall. ICC in this study showed high expression in the colon, whereas their expression ranged from mild to moderate in three segments of the small intestine. In conclusion, most ICC were found distributed in different locations throughout the wall of the small intestine, whereas they concentrated near MP and within ICML of the colon's wall.