The transcriptional regulator SOX10 and the signalling molecule endothelin 3 have important roles in the development of the mammalian enteric nervous system (ENS). Using a clonal cell culture system, we show that SOX10 inhibits overt neuronal and glial differentiation of multilineage ENS progenitor cells (EPCs), without interfering with their neurogenic commitment. We also demonstrate that endo...

Chagasic megaoesophagus and megacolon are characterised by motor abnormalities related to enteric nervous system lesions and their development seems to be related to geographic distribution of distinct Trypanosoma cruzi subpopulations. Beagle dogs were infected with Y or Berenice-78 (Be-78) T. cruzi strains and necropsied during the acute or chronic phase of experimental disease for post mortem...

Although there is pharmacological evidence to assume that the P2Y4 receptor is a regulator of epithelial ion transport, no detailed data about its distribution within the gut are available. Therefore, this study, using whole mounts and cryosections, aimed to reveal the expression pattern of P2Y4 along the entire guinea-pig gastrointestinal tract. P2Y4 immunoreactivity was absent from enteric ne...

Origin and migration of neural crest derived cells in the gut The neurones and glial cells of the enteric nervous system (ENS) are derived from the neural crest (fig 1). While they are migrating, neural crest cells are morphologically indistinguishable from mesenchymal cells through which they migrate, and thus a variety of experimental approaches have been used to examine colonisation of the g...

Although diverticular disease of the colon (diverticulosis) is a frequent finding in Western countries, its pathophysiologic grounds are still only partially understood. Traditionally considered as an age-related condition, colonic diverticulosis is probably the final result of several factors concurring together to determine the anatomo-functional abnormalities eventually causing outpouching o...

The enteric nervous system (ENS), a major regulatory system for gastrointestinal function, is composed of neurons and enteric glial cells (EGCs). Enteric glia have long been thought to provide only structural support to neurons. However, recent evidence indicates enteric glia-neuron cross talk significantly contributes to neuronal maintenance, survival, and function. Thus damage to EGCs may tri...

In healthy gut enteric glial cells (EGC) are essential to intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) functions. In Crohn's Disease (CD), both EGC phenotype and IEB functions are altered, but putative involvement of EGC in CD pathogenesis remains unknown and study of human EGC are lacking. EGC isolated from CD and control patients showed similar expression of glial markers and EGC-derived soluble facto...

Diabetes can result in loss of enteric neurons and subsequent gastrointestinal complications. The mechanism of enteric neuronal loss in diabetes is not known. We examined the effects of hyperglycemia on enteric neuronal survival and the effects of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on modulating this survival. Exposure of primary enteric neurons to 20 mM glucose (hyperglycemia) ...