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Editorial
. 2013 Dec;145(6):1193-6.
doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2013.10.036.

The tuning of the gut nervous system by commensal microbiota

Nobuhiko Kamada, John Y Kao
Editorial

The tuning of the gut nervous system by commensal microbiota

Nobuhiko Kamada et al. Gastroenterology. 2013 Dec.
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors disclose no conflicts

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Tuning of the enteric nervous systems by the gut microbiota
In the gastrointestinal tract, resident microbes translocate to the lamina propria (LP) from the intestinal lumen through the microfold (M) cells and/or uptaken by LP dendritic cells. Alternatively, secreted bacterial components, such as peptideglycans (PGN) directly translocate to the LP. Bacteria or their secreted components access the intestinal smooth muscle layer through an unknown pathway and activate TLR2 signaling in non-hematopoietic cells, such as enteric neurons, glia, and smooth muscle cells, in both the myenteric and submucosal plexuses. TLR2 stimulation by the commensal bacterial ligands induces expression of a neurotrophic factor glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). GDNF increases the number of enteric neurons and glial cells by promoting the development and survival of these cells, thereby enhancing structural and functional development of the enteric nervous system (ENS). The gut microbiota-mediated fine-tuning of the ENS functions decreases the susceptibility of the host to chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal disorder, such as inflammatory bowel disease.
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References

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