Fig. 6. Expression of excitatory (neurokinin 1 [NK1] and choline-acetyltransferase [ChAT]), and inhibitory (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide [VIP] and neuronal nitric oxide synthase [nNOS]) receptors in colon tissue. Control and the infected group were evaluated in the acute phase (AP; 11 days) and chronic phase (CP; 15 months post-infection [m.p.i.]) of Trypanosoma cruzi infection. The colon tissue gene expression of the neurotransmitter receptors was measured by the real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. (A) NK1, (B) ChAT, (C) VIP, and (D) nNOS. Statistical analysis: two-way ANOVA and Student–Newman–Keuls. n = 5, except for control AP, CP3, CP7, CP12, and infected CP3, n = 4; and for control CP15, n = 3. Control (○); Infected (●). The symbols (*) represent differences in the relation to the group (control vs infected) and letters (a, b, and c) represent the difference in the time, regarding the same group. aDifferent from AP. bDifferent from CP3. cDifferent from CP7. P ≤ 0.05. Data presented as mean ± SD.
© J Neurogastroenterol Motil
