Objectives: To comprehensively review the scientific knowledge on the gut-brain axis. Methods: Various publications on the gut-brain axis, until 31 July 2017, were screened using the Medline, Google, and Cochrane Library databases. The search was performed using the following keywords: "gut-brain axis", "gut-microbiota-brain axis", "nutrition microbiome/microbiota", "enteric nervous system", "e...

background: transplants of multipotent stem cells have been shown to have a neuroprotective effect after central nervous system injury. the bulge region of the hair follicle has been reported as a putative source of hair follicle stem cells (hfsc) for many years; however, few studies have documented the properties of bulge derived cells in vitro until now. this study was conducted to isolate an...

The transcription factor Sox10 is required for proper development of various neural crest-derived cell types. Several lineages including melanocytes, autonomic and enteric neurons, and all subtypes of peripheral glia are missing in mice homozygous for Sox10 mutations. Moreover, haploinsufficiency of Sox10 results in neural crest defects that cause Waardenburg/Hirschsprung disease in humans. We ...

Enteric nervous system (ENS) progenitor cells isolated from mouse and human bowel can be cultured in vitro as neurospheres which are aggregates of the proliferating progenitor cells, together with neurons and glial cells derived from them. To investigate the factors regulating progenitor cell proliferation and differentiation, we first characterised cell proliferation in mouse ENS neurospheres ...

A population of multipotent stem cells capable of differentiating into neurons and glia has been isolated from adult intestine in humans and rodents. While these cells may provide a pool of stem cells for neurogenesis in the enteric nervous system (ENS), such a function has been difficult to demonstrate in vivo. An extensive study by Joseph et al. involving 108 rats and 51 mice submitted to var...

Peripheral glial cells consist of satellite, enteric glial, and Schwann cells. In dorsal root ganglia, besides pseudo-unipolar neurons, myelinated and nonmyelinated fibers, macrophages, and fibroblasts, satellite cells also constitute the resident components. Information on satellite cells is not abundant; however, they appear to provide mechanical and metabolic support for neurons by forming a...

Extracellular nucleotides and adenosine are biologically active molecules that bind members of the P2 and P1 receptor families, respectively. In the digestive system, these receptors modulate various functions, including salivary, gastric, and intestinal epithelial secretion and enteric neurotransmission. The availability of P1 and P2 ligands is modulated by ectonucleotidases, enzymes that hydr...

Targeted deletion of the bHLH DNA-binding protein Hand2 in the neural crest, impacts development of the enteric nervous system (ENS), possibly by regulating the transition from neural precursor cell to neuron. We tested this hypothesis by targeting Hand2 deletion in nestin-expressing neural precursor (NEP) cells. The mutant mice showed abnormal ENS development, resulting in lethal neurogenic ps...

Neural crest cells (NCC) are multi-potent cells of ectodermal origin that colonize diverse organs, including the gastrointestinal tract to form the enteric nervous system (ENS) and hematopoietic organs (bone marrow, thymus) where they participate in lymphocyte trafficking. Recent studies have implicated the spleen as an anatomic site for integration of inflammatory signals from the intestine wi...