Michigan State University researchers have made a surprising discovery about the enteric nervous system of the human intestine, one that is itself filled with surprising facts. For starters, there’s the fact that this “second brain” even exists.
“Most people don’t even know they’ve got this in their stomach,” said Brian Gulbransen, a professor at the MSU Foundation in the Department of Physiology at the College of Natural Science.
In addition, the enteric nervous system is remarkably independent: the intestine could perform many of its regular tasks even if it were somehow decoupled from the central nervous system. And the number of specialized nervous system cells, namely neurons and glial cells, that live in a person’s gut is roughly the same as that found in a cat’s brain.
“It’s like this second brain in our gut,” said Gulbransen. “It’s an extensive network of neurons and glial cells that line our intestines.”
Neurons are the better known cell type that is known to conduct the electrical signals of the nervous system. Glia, on the other hand, are not electrically active, which has made it difficult for researchers to decipher what these cells are doing. One of the leading theories was that glial cells passively support neurons.
Gulbransen and his team have now shown that glial cells play a much more active role in the intestinal nervous system. In a study published online October 1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Spartans showed that glia affect the signals from neural circuits very precisely. This discovery could help pave the way for new treatments for bowel diseases that affect up to 15% of the US population.
If you think of this second brain as a computer, the glia are the chips that work in the periphery. They are an active part of the signal network, but not like neurons. The glia modulate or modify the signal. “
Brian Gulbransen, MSU Foundation Professor, Department of Physiology, College of Natural Science
In computer language, the glia would be the logical gates. Or, for a more musical metaphor, the glia don’t carry the notes played on an electric guitar, but the pedals and amplifiers that modulate the tone and volume of those notes.
Regardless of the analogy, the glia are more important to making sure things are going smoothly -; or sounding good -; as scientists have understood so far. This work creates a more complete, if more complicated, picture of how the enteric nervous system works. This also creates new opportunities to potentially treat bowel diseases.
“This is a long way to go, but now we can wonder if there is some way to target a particular type or group of glia and change their function in some way,” Gulbransen said. “Pharmaceutical companies are already interested in this.”
Earlier this year, Gulbransen’s team found that glia could open new avenues for treating irritable bowel syndrome, a painful condition that is currently incurable and that affects 10 to 15 percent of Americans. Glia could also be implicated in several other health conditions, including bowel motility disorders such as constipation and a rare condition known as chronic pseudo-obstruction of the bowel.
“Right now there’s no known cause. People develop what looks like a blockage in the intestines, only there’s no physical disability,” Gulbransen said. “There is only part of your intestines that is no longer working.
While he stressed that science is unable to provide treatments for these problems, it is better equipped to study and understand them better. And Gulbransen believes the MSU will be a central figure in developing that understanding.
“The MSU has one of the best bowel research groups in the world. We have this huge, diverse group of people working on all major areas of colon research, ”he said. “That is a real strength of ours.”
Source:
Michigan State University
Journal reference:
Ahmadzai, MM, et al. (2021) Circuit-specific enteric glia regulate the motor neuro-circuits of the intestine. PNAS. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2025938118.
source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/10/03/msu-researchers-make-surprising-discovery-about-the-human-guts-enteric-nervous-system/
No comments:
Post a Comment