background: the present study was designed to evaluate the secondary microglial activation processes after spinal cord injury (sci). methods: a quantitative histological study was performed to determine ed-1 positive cells, glial cell density, and cavitation size in untreated sci rats at days 1, 2, and 4, and weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4. results: the results of glial cell quantification along the 4900...

BACKGROUND Ageing is associated with gastrointestinal dysfunction, which can have a major impact on quality of life of the elderly. A number of changes in the innervation of the gut during ageing have been reported, including neuronal loss and degenerative changes. Evidence indicates that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are elevated in ageing enteric neurons, but that neurotrophic factors may red...

Introduction: Sialic acid plays pivotal roles in various critical physiological events at molecular and cellular levels and also pathological processes. Changes in sialic acid concentration are observed in many pathological processes; for example, there are some available data on the evaluated level of sialic acid and neurodegenerative prevalence. It can be proposed that sialic acid can play a ...

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is essential for the absorption of nutrients, induction of mucosal and systemic immune responses, and maintenance of a healthy gut microbiota. Key aspects of gastrointestinal physiology are controlled by the enteric nervous system (ENS), which is composed of neurons and glial cells. The ENS is exposed to and interacts with the outer (microbiota, metabolites, and ...

Neural crest cells (NCC) can migrate into different parts of the body and express their strong inductive potential. In addition, they are multipotent and are able to differentiate into various cell types with diverse functions. In the primitive gut, NCC induce differentiation of muscular structures and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC), and they themselves differentiate into the elements of the...

INTRODUCTION After surgical repair of gastroschisis, most neonates exhibit severe intestinal dysmotility. We hypothesized that impaired development of the enteric nervous system or interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) network contributes to impaired intestinal motility in gastroschisis. We evaluated this hypothesis in a rat model of gastroschisis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Gastroschisis was created s...

Although the concept of purinergic signalling arose from experiments designed to find the identity of the non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) inhibitory neurotransmitter in the gut, it has taken many years for the more general importance of the various roles of ATP as a physiological messenger in the gut to be recognized. Firstly, vasoactive intestitial polypeptide (VIP) and later nitric oxi...