Abstract:The word “glia” is derived from the Greek word “&ggr;&lgr;o&igr;&agr;,” glue of the enteric nervous system, and for many years, enteric glial cells (EGCs) were believed to provide mainly structural support. However, EGCs as astrocytes in the central nervous system may serve a much more vital and active role in the enteric nervous system, and in homeostatic regulation of gastrointestinal functions. The emphasis of this review will be on emerging concepts supported by basic, translational, and/or clinical studies, implicating EGCs in neuron-to-glial (neuroglial) communication, motility, interactions with other cells in the gut microenvironment, infection, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The concept of the “reactive glial phenotype” is explored as it relates to inflammatory bowel diseases, bacterial and viral infections, postoperative ileus, functional gastrointestinal disorders, and motility disorders. The main theme of this review is that EGCs are emerging as a new frontier in neurogastroenterology and a potential therapeutic target. New technological innovations in neuroimaging techniques are facilitating progress in the field, and an update is provided on exciting new translational studies. Gaps in our knowledge are discussed for further research. Restoring normal EGC function may prove to be an efficient strategy to dampen inflammation. Probiotics, palmitoylethanolamide (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor–&agr;), interleukin-1 antagonists (anakinra), and interventions acting on nitric oxide, receptor for advanced glycation end products, S100B, or purinergic signaling pathways are relevant clinical targets on EGCs with therapeutic potential.
Enteric Glial Cells: A New Frontier in Neurogastroenterology and Clinical Target for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
F. Ochoa-Cortes,Fabio Turco,Andrómeda Liñán-Rico,S. Soghomonyan,E. Whitaker,S. Wehner,R. Cuomo,F. Christofi
Published 2015 in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2015
- Venue
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
- Publication date
2015-12-18
- Fields of study
Biology, Medicine
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar, PubMed
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