We investigated the expression pattern of the endothelin 3 gene, of which the mutation, as well as mutation of its receptor (endothelin-B receptor), affects the development of two neural crest derivatives: enteric nervous system and melanocytes. After previous work showing that these neural crest derived cells express endothelin-B receptor or its subtype endothelin-B2 receptor in the avian embr...

THE mechanisms responsible for the altered neuromus1. cular activity that results in the impaired motility of small bowel transplant recipients are incompletely understood. Autotransplantation studies in small l or large2 animals have shown that harvesting process, preservation, and reperfusion may impair the function of the enteric nervous system during small bowel transplantation. It is not k...

..................................................................................................................8 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...............................................................................9 Introduction....................................................................................................................9 Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor f...

The gut and the brain communicate bidirectionally through anatomic and humoral pathways, establishing what is known as the gut-brain axis. Therefore, interventions affecting one system will impact on the other, giving the opportunity to investigate and develop future therapeutic strategies that target both systems. Alterations in the gut-brain axis may arise as a consequence of changes in micro...

Enteric nervous system progenitor cells isolated from postnatal human gut and cultured as neurospheres can then be transplanted into aganglionic gut to restore normal patterns of contractility. These progenitor cells may be of future use to treat patients with Hirschprung's disease, a congenital condition characterized by hindgut dysmotility due to the lack of enteric nervous system ganglia. He...

The nervous tissue within the wall of the alimentary canal consists of intramural nerves and intramural neurons and constitutes the enteric nervous system. This is indeed a system in the sense that its elements are interconnected, well integrated, and serving modulated physiological roles. The traffic of nerve signals proceeds in all directions, namely orally and aborally, circumferentially, ac...

The enteric nervous system may have an important role in modulating gastrointestinal barrier response to disease through activation of enteric glia cells. In vitro studies have shown that enteric glia activation improves intestinal epithelial barrier function by altering the expression of tight junction proteins. We hypothesized that severe injury would increase expression of glial fibrillary a...