BACKGROUND & AIMS Absence of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) leads to intestinal aganglionosis. We recently demonstrated that patients with diverticular disease (DD) exhibit hypoganglionosis suggesting neurotrophic factor deprivation. Thus, we screened mRNA expression pattern of the GDNF system in DD and examined the effects of GDNF on cultured enteric neurons. METHODS Colo...

The enteric nervous system (ENS) derives from neural crest, which invade and migrate along the developing gut, proliferate extensively, and differentiate into neurons and glial cells organized as interconnected ganglia that control complex behaviours of the gut, such as peristalsis. While most ENS progenitors undergo differentiation, cells exhibiting properties of enteric progenitor cells (EPCs...

The enteric nervous system (ENS) derives from neural crest, which invade and migrate along the developing gut, proliferate extensively, and differentiate into neurons and glial cells organized as interconnected ganglia that control complex behaviours of the gut, such as peristalsis. While most ENS progenitors undergo differentiation, cells exhibiting properties of enteric progenitor cells (EPCs...

Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) promotes enteric neuronal development in vitro; nevertheless, an enteric nervous system (ENS) is present in mice lacking NT-3 or TrkC. We thus analyzed the physiological significance of NT-3 in ENS development. Subsets of neurons developing in vitro in response to NT-3 became NT-3 dependent; NT-3 withdrawal led to apoptosis, selectively in TrkC-expressing neurons. Antibodi...

The enteric nervous system arises from neural crest cells that migrate as chains into and along the primitive gut, subsequently differentiating into enteric neurons and glia. Little is known about the mechanisms governing neural crest migration en route to and along the gut in vivo. Here, we report that Retinoic Acid (RA) temporally controls zebrafish enteric neural crest cell chain migration. ...

S100B is expressed in various types of glial cells and is involved in regulating many aspects of their function. However, little is known about its role during nervous system development. In this study, we investigated the effect of inhibiting the onset of S100B synthesis in the development of the enteric nervous system, a network of neurons and glia located in the wall of the gut that is vital...

ENTERIC NEURONS HAVE A HARD LIFE. Unlike their counterparts in the central nervous system, enteric neurons lack the protection against mechanical damage that a hard skull and the cushioning of cerebrospinal fluid provide. Myenteric neurons, moreover, must also endure the shearing and pressure that accompany their location between the circular and longitudinal layers of smooth muscle. Even submu...

A mouse neurofilament light subunit (NF-L) transgene with a 36 bp c-myc insert at the end of the coding region was found to have neuropathic effects on enteric and motor neurons of transgenic mice. The severity of phenotype was related directly to the levels of transgenic mRNA expression. High levels of transgene expression were lethal to newborn pups, causing profound alterations in the develo...

NKCC2, an isoform of Na+-K+-2Cl(-) cotransporter, is principally present in the kidney and plays a critical role in salt reabsorption. Expression of NKCC2 has been found in the apical membrane of intestinal epithelial cells in a number of marine fish, however, details for expression in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract are lacking. RT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used ...

This short review describes the conceptual development in the search for the enteric neural circuits with the initial identifications of the classes of enteric neurons on the bases of their morphology, neurochemistry, biophysical properties, projections and connectivity. The discovery of the presence of multiple neurochemicals in the same nerve cells in specific combinations led to the concept ...