Temporal differentiation and migration of substance P, serotonin, and secretin immunoreactive enteroendocrine cells in the mouse proximal small intestine

Precise spatial interrelationships exist between substance P, serotonin, and secretin containing enteroendocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of mice. In the proximal small intestine these products are coexpressed in various combinations in single enteroendocrine cells along the crypt to villus axis in a pattern that suggests the sequential expression of substance P, serotonin, and secretin. In this report we use bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and multilabeling immunohistochemistry to define the temporal and spatial interrelationships between substance P, serotonin, and secretin immunoreactive cells in the mouse proximal small intestine. Our findings demonstrate the sequential expression of substance P, serotonin, and secretin in a population of upwardly migrating enteroendocrine cells and, furthermore, identify a population of crypt associated cells coexpressing substance P and serotonin that fails to traverse this pathway. The lack of secretin immunoreactive cells in the crypts suggests that local factors present in the crypts and/or on villi regulate secretin expression. The combined use of BrdU and multilabeling immuno‐histochemistry provides a method for defining enteroendocrine cell differentiation pathways throughout the gastrointestinal tract. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.