Gastric electrical stimulation ameliorates antral myenteric neurons in streptozotocin-induced diabetic beagle canines

Figure 3 Representative immunofluorescence images of myenteric choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive positive neurons in full-thickness sections of canine gastric antrum (200 × magnification, scale bar = 50 μm). A: Representative images of anti-human neuronal protein HuC/HuD-immunoreactive (anti-Hu-IR) labeled neurons in diabetes mellitus (DM) + gastric electrical stimulation (GES); B: Representative images of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive (ChAT-IR) positive neurons in DM + GES; C: Representative merged images of anti-Hu-IR/ChAT-IR in DM + GES; D: Representative images of anti-Hu-IR labeled neurons in DM + sham GES (SGES); E: Representative images of ChAT-IR positive neurons in DM + SGES; F: Representative merged images of anti-Hu-IR/ChAT-IR in DM + SGES; G: Representative images of anti-Hu-IR labeled neurons in control + GES; H: Representative images of ChAT-IR positive neurons in control + GES; I: Representative merged images of anti-Hu-IR/ChAT-IR in control + GES; J: Representative images of anti-Hu-IR labeled neurons in control + SGES; K: Representative images of ChAT-IR positive neurons in control + SGES; L: Representative merged images of anti-Hu-IR/ChAT-IR in control + SGES; M: Number of anti-Hu-IR positive neurons; N: Number of ChAT-IR positive neurons; O: Proportion of ChAT-IR positive neurons relative to total neurons. The proportion of ChAT-IR neurons was higher in the diabetes mellitus + GES compared with the diabetes mellitus + SGES subgroup (^bP < 0.01). Within sham-stimulated subgroups, the proportion of ChAT-IR neurons was less in the diabetic canines compared with the controls (^bP < 0.01). Anti-Hu: Anti-human neuronal protein HuC/HuD; ChAT: Choline acetyltransferase; DM: Diabetes mellitus; GES: Gastric electrical stimulation; SGES: Sham gastric electrical stimulation.