scholarly journals The Enteric Nervous System and the Microenvironment of the Gut: The Translational Aspects of the Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 12000
Author(s):  
Fruzsina Mogor ◽  
Tamás Kovács ◽  
Zoltan Lohinai ◽  
David Dora

The proper functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is essential for digestion, absorption and the elimination of waste products. It protects us against pathogens, allergens and toxins, continuously monitoring and regulating the internal environment. The vast majority of these tasks are carried out by the nervous and immune systems of the gut in close cooperation by constantly adapting to internal and external stimuli, maintaining its homeostasis. In this review, we would like to summarize the most recent findings about the cytoarchitecture and functional microanatomy of the enteric nervous system and the immune microenvironment of the gut highlighting the essential role and inevitable molecular crosstalk between these two highly organized networks. Gut neuroimmunology is a rapidly evolving field and might help us to understand the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease and the systemic consequences of chronic intestinal inflammation. Finally, we also included a brief outlook to present the most recent research depicting the multifaceted role of the gut microbiome, its contribution to the gut-brain axis and human disease.

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 335-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith A Sharkey ◽  
Edward J Parr

Since about the 1950s nerves in the wall of the intestine have been postulated to play a role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Human and animal studies examining the role of nerves in intestinal inflammation are the focus of this review. Consideration is given to two possible ways that nerves are involved in IBD. First, nerves may play a role in the development or maintenance of inflammation through local release of transmitters. Second, once initiated (by whatever means), the processes of inflammation may disrupt the normal pattern of innervation and the interactions of nerves and their target tissues. Many of the functional disturbances observed in IBD are likely due to an alteration in the enteric nervous system either structurally through disruptions of nerve-target relationships or by modifications of neurotransmitters or their receptors. Finally, it appears that the enteric nervous system may be a potential therapeutic target in IBD and that neuroactive drugs acting locally can represent useful agents in the management of this disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yashar Houshyar ◽  
Luca Massimino ◽  
Luigi Antonio Lamparelli ◽  
Silvio Danese ◽  
Federica Ungaro

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a multifaceted class of relapsing-remitting chronic inflammatory conditions where microbiota dysbiosis plays a key role during its onset and progression. The human microbiota is a rich community of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists, and archaea, and is an integral part of the body influencing its overall homeostasis. Emerging evidence highlights dysbiosis of the archaeome and mycobiome to influence the overall intestinal microbiota composition in health and disease, including IBD, although they remain some of the least understood components of the gut microbiota. Nonetheless, their ability to directly impact the other commensals, or the host, reasonably makes them important contributors to either the maintenance of the mucosal tissue physiology or to chronic intestinal inflammation development. Therefore, the full understanding of the archaeome and mycobiome dysbiosis during IBD pathogenesis may pave the way to the discovery of novel mechanisms, finally providing innovative therapeutic targets that can soon implement the currently available treatments for IBD patients.


1994 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Radford-Smith ◽  
D. P. Jewell

Cytokines play an important role in the development and persistence of the inflammatory lesions seen in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. This review discusses the current thinking of the role of cytokines in chronic intestinal inflammation including the involvement of immunoregulatory cytokines within the Th1 and Th2 subsets.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Pastorelli ◽  
Carlo De Salvo ◽  
Maurizio Vecchi ◽  
Theresa T. Pizarro

Interleukin (IL)-33 is a recently identified cytokine belonging to the IL-1 family that is widely expressed throughout the body and has the ability to induce Th2 immune responses. In addition, IL-33 plays a key role in promoting host defenses against parasites through the expansion of a novel population of innate lymphoid cells. In recent years, a growing body of evidence has shown that the proinflammatory properties displayed by IL-33 are detrimental in several experimental models of inflammation; in others, however, IL-33 appears to have protective functions. In 2010, four different research groups consistently described the upregulation of IL-33 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Animal models of IBD were subsequently utilized in order to mechanistically determine the precise role of IL-33 in chronic intestinal inflammation, without, however, reaching conclusive evidence demonstrating whether IL-33 is pathogenic or protective. Indeed, data generated from these studies suggest that IL-33 may possess dichotomous functions, enhancing inflammatory responses on one hand and promoting epithelial integrity on the other. This review focuses on the available data regarding IL-33/ST2 in the physiological and inflammatory states of the gut in order to speculate on the possible roles of this novel IL-1 family member in intestinal inflammation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Bernardazzi ◽  
Beatriz Pêgo ◽  
Heitor Siffert P. de Souza

Intestinal immunity is finely regulated by several concomitant and overlapping mechanisms, in order to efficiently sense external stimuli and mount an adequate response of either tolerance or defense. In this context, a complex interplay between immune and nonimmune cells is responsible for the maintenance of normal homeostasis. However, in certain conditions, the disruption of such an intricate network may result in intestinal inflammation, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is believed to result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors acting in concert with an inappropriate immune response, which in turn interacts with nonimmune cells, including nervous system components. Currently, evidence shows that the interaction between the immune and the nervous system is bidirectional and plays a critical role in the regulation of intestinal inflammation. Recently, the maintenance of intestinal homeostasis has been shown to be under the reciprocal control of the microbiota by immune mechanisms, whereas intestinal microorganisms can modulate mucosal immunity. Therefore, in addition to presenting the mechanisms underlying the interaction between immune and nervous systems in the gut, here we discuss the role of the microbiota also in the regulation of neuroimmune crosstalk involved in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation, with potential implications to IBD pathogenesis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A517-A517
Author(s):  
A MIZOGUCHI ◽  
E MIZOGUCHI ◽  
Y DEJONG ◽  
H TAKEDATSU ◽  
F PREFFER ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (19) ◽  
pp. 6398-6408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Sterzenbach ◽  
Lucie Bartonickova ◽  
Wiebke Behrens ◽  
Birgit Brenneke ◽  
Jessika Schulze ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The enterohepatic Helicobacter species Helicobacter hepaticus colonizes the murine intestinal and hepatobiliary tract and is associated with chronic intestinal inflammation, gall stone formation, hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus far, the role of H. hepaticus motility and flagella in intestinal colonization is unknown. In other, closely related bacteria, late flagellar genes are mainly regulated by the sigma factor FliA (σ28). We investigated the function of the H. hepaticus FliA in gene regulation, flagellar biosynthesis, motility, and murine colonization. Competitive microarray analysis of the wild type versus an isogenic fliA mutant revealed that 11 genes were significantly more highly expressed in wild-type bacteria and 2 genes were significantly more highly expressed in the fliA mutant. Most of these were flagellar genes, but four novel FliA-regulated genes of unknown function were identified. H. hepaticus possesses two identical copies of the gene encoding the FliA-dependent major flagellin subunit FlaA (open reading frames HH1364 and HH1653). We characterized the phenotypes of mutants in which fliA or one or both copies of the flaA gene were knocked out. flaA_1 flaA_2 double mutants and fliA mutants did not synthesize detectable amounts of FlaA and possessed severely truncated flagella. Also, both mutants were nonmotile and unable to colonize mice. Mutants with either flaA gene knocked out produced flagella morphologically similar to those of wild-type bacteria and expressed FlaA and FlaB. flaA_1 mutants which had flagella but displayed reduced motility did not colonize mice, indicating that motility is required for intestinal colonization by H. hepaticus and that the presence of flagella alone is not sufficient.


2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28
Author(s):  
Vladimír Teplan ◽  
Milan Lukáš

The incidence and prevalence of overweight and obesity has dramatically increased in the last decades and is generally considered to be global pandemics. The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rising parallel with overweight and obesity. Contrary to a conventional believe, about 15–40% patients with IBD are obese, which can contribute to the development and course of IBD, especially in Crohn’s disease. Although the findings of some cohort studies are still conflicting, recent results indicate a special role of visceral adipose tissue and particularly mesenteric adipose tissue known as creeping fat, leading to intestinal inflammation. The involvement of altered adipocyte function and deregulated production of adipokines such as leptin and adiponectin has been suggested in the pathogenesis of IBD. The emerging role of Western diet and microbiota can also open new possibilities in IBD management. The effect of obesity on the IBD-related therapy remains to be studied. The finding that obesity results in suboptimal response to the therapy, potentially promoting rapid clearance of biologic agents and thus leading to their low concentrations, has a great importance. Obesity also makes IBD colorectal surgery technically challenging and might increase a risk of perioperative complications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 18-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Valdez ◽  
Bradley W. Bolling

Chronic intestinal inflammation, occurring in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), is associated with compromised intestinal barrier function. Inflammatory cytokines disrupt tight junctions and increase paracellular permeability of luminal antigens. Thus, chronic intestinal barrier dysfunction hinders the resolution of inflammation. Dietary approaches may help mitigate intestinal barrier dysfunction and chronic inflammation. A growing body of work in rodent models of colitis has demonstrated that berry consumption inhibits chronic intestinal inflammation. Berries are a rich dietary source of polyphenolic compounds, particularly anthocyanins. However, berry anthocyanins have limited bioavailability and are extensively metabolized by the gut microbiota and host tissue. This review summarizes the literature regarding the beneficial functions of anthocyanin-rich berries in treating and preventing IBD. Here, we will establish the role of barrier function in the pathogenesis of IBD and how dietary anthocyanins and their known microbial catabolites modulate intestinal barrier function.


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