A new category of signalling molecules – transmitter gases
–
has appeared. Nitric oxide (NO) is generated by nitric oxide
synthase (NOS) and diffuses as a short-lived transcellular messenger
through the plasma membrane. NADPH-diaphorase
(NADPH-d) is a marker enzyme for NO-producing neurons. In this study
the pattern of NADPH-d stained neurons in
Diphyllobothrium dendriticum is described and compared to the
pattern of aminergic and peptidergic neuronal elements
and to that of the musculature stained with TRITC-labelled phalloidin.
NADPH-d staining was observed in neurons in
the bilobed brain and along the 2 main nerve cords and in nerve fibres
close to the body musculature and the musculature
of the reproductive ducts, the walls of the testicular follicles and in
sensory endings in the tegument. The NADPH-d
staining reaction and the 5-HT or FMRFamide immunoreactivities occur
in separate sets of neurons.