Table 1.
Quantitative neuron density data
| Cell density (cells/mm2) | Fold change | p value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WT |
GFAP–Gdnf mice |
|||
| A, GDNF transgene in glia significantly increases submucosal neuron density with minimal effect on myenteric neurons | ||||
| Small bowel submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 115.2 ± 4.7 | 137.3 ± 5.8 | 1.19 | 0.004 |
| Colon submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 24.3 ± 3.3 | 41.9 ± 4.7 | 1.7 | 0.007 |
| Small bowel myenteric Cuprolinic | 104.8 ± 6.1 | 110.7 ± 8.7 | 0.56 | |
| Colon myenteric Cuprolinic | 185.2 ± 8.0 | 236.6 ± 9.4 | 1.28 | <0.001 |
| PBS-injected mice |
GDNF-injected mice |
|||
| B, Systemic GDNF injection dramatically increases submucosal neuron density but not myenteric neuron density | ||||
| Small bowel submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 209.6 ± 5.7 | 513.5 ± 20.7 | 2.44 | <0.001 |
| Colon submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 42.3 ± 5.6 | 131.6 ± 18.2 | 3.1 | 0.003 |
| Small bowel myenteric Cuprolinic | 214.8 ± 41 | 216.7 ± 49 | 0.978 | |
| Colon myenteric Cuprolinic | 592 ± 83 | 501 ± 25 | 0.356 | |
| WT |
GFAP–Gdnf mice |
|||
| C, Excess GDNF increases NADPH-d+ neuron density but not TH+ or ChAT+ neuron density | ||||
| Small bowel myenteric NADPH-d | 39.7 ± 3.4 | 51.7 ± 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.017 |
| Small bowel myenteric TH | 0.12 ± 0.05 | 0.20 ± 0.07 | 0.336 | |
| Small bowel myenteric ChAT | 59.2 ± 4.4 | 46.0 ± 6.4 | 0.148 | |
| Colon myenteric NADPH-d | 87.4 ± 7.1 | 128.4 ± 6.8 | 1.47 | <0.001 |
| Colon myenteric ChAT | 94.4 ± 17.6 | 104.4 ± 9.6 | 0.63 | |
| PBS-injected mice |
GDNF-injected mice |
|||
| Small bowel myenteric NADPH-d | 53.7 ± 1.2 | 84.5 ± 7.2 | 1.57 | 0.006 |
| Colon myenteric NADPH-d | 313.5 ± 24 | 266.8 ± 12 | 0.133 | |
| WT |
GDNF+/− |
|||
| D, Decreased GDNF reduces myenteric neuron density | ||||
| Small bowel myenteric NADPH-d | 37.1 ± 4.9 | 20.1 ± 2.9 | 0.54 | 0.043 |
| Small bowel myenteric ChAT | 72.5 ± 4.2 | 34.5 ± 5.2 | 0.48 | 0.003 |
| Esophagus NADPH-d | 14.3 ± 1.0 | 3.6 ± 1.0 | 0.25 | <0.001 |
| WT |
Myo–Gdnf mice |
|||
| E, GDNF transgene in skeletal muscle does not affect small bowel or colon neuron density | ||||
| Small bowel myenteric Cuprolinic | 125.3 ± 7.3 | 155.7 ± 18.2 | 0.197 | |
| Small bowel myenteric NADPH-d | 32.3 ± 1.5 | 39.4 ± 1.5 | 0.325 | |
| Small bowel submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 146.1 ± 7.8 | 135.3 ± 5.4 | 0.319 | |
| Colon myenteric Cuprolinic | 289.9 ± 14.0 | 306.1 ± 43.1 | 1.000 | |
| Colon submucosal acetylcholinesterase | 27.9 ± 3.6 | 34.6 ± 1.8 | 0.166 | |
| WT |
Myo–Gdnf mice |
|||
| F, Increased GDNF dramatically increases esophageal neuron density | ||||
| Esophagus myenteric NADPH-d | 7.8 ± 1.0 | 14.5 ± 0.5 | 1.85 | 0.004 |
| PBS-injected mice |
GDNF-injected mice |
|||
| Esophagus myenteric NADPH-d | 19.5 ± 1.4 | 30.1 ± 3.5 | 1.54 | 0.031 |
| WT |
GFAP–Gdnf mice |
|||
| Esophagus myenteric NADPH-d | 6.8 ± 1.0 | 17.9 ± 2.4 | 2.63 | <0.001 |
Neurons per millimeter squared (±SEM) are shown for GFAP–Gdnf, Myo-Gdnf, GDNF-injected, and Gdnf+/− mice. Because these mice are different ages and different strains, all comparisons are between animals with altered GDNF abundance and WT littermates. Fold change is the ratio of mutant or GDNF-injected mouse to WT mouse. This table is organized to follow the text. The same data are also provided in supplemental Table 1 (available at www.jneurosci.org as supplemental material), but data there are organized by mouse genotype or treatment regimen. n = 6 GFAP–Gdnf mice, 4 GDNF-injected mice, 6 Myo–Gdnf mice, and 3 Gdnf+/− mice as well as strain- and age-matched WT animals.