Gut-Brain Axis and Gut Physiology
The enteric nervous system (ENS) is often called the second brain because of the high number of neurons along the GI tract. While this enables the gut to remarkably function independent of the rest of the body, there is a fair amount of communication between the gut and the brain. In particular, about ~80% of nerve fibers between the gut and brain are dedicated to send information to the brain.1 Recent studies involving the gut microbiome have demonstrated how this connection has the ability to impact the brain itself and may play a role in a number of central nervous system disorders.
ABNEL conducts research focusing on the intersection of the gut lumen (space containing food and microbes), epithelium (permeable barrier to the body), and ENS. This work aims to enable a better understanding of their impact on some CNS diseases like Parkinson’s disease. For more general information on the epithelium itself, please check out our recent review below led by Jessica.
Recent publications:
Sanjin Hosic, Will Lake, Eric Stas, Ryan Koppes, David T. Breault, Shashi K. Murthy & Abigail N. Koppes.Cholinergic Activation of Primary Human Derived Intestinal Epithelium Does Not Ameliorate TNF-α Induced Injury. June 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-020-00633-0
Marissa Puzan, Sanjin Hosic, Caroline Ghio, Abigail Koppes. Enteric Nervous System Regulation of Intestinal Stem Cell Differentiation, Epithelial Monolayer Health, and Inflammation. Scientific Reports. April 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24768-3
Recent review:
Jessica Snyder, CM Wang, AQ Zhang, Y Li, Josh Luchan, Sanjin Hosic, Ryan Koppes, Rebecca Lyn Carrier, Abigail Koppes. Materials and Microenvironments for Engineering the Intestinal Epithelium. Feb 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-020-02470-8
Cited Papers:
1 Cryan, J. F. et al. The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis. Physiological Reviews 99, 1877-2013, doi:10.1152/physrev.00018.2018 (2019).
David Successfully defends his Thesis!!
David Diaz successfully defended his these titled: A study of primary sensory neurons and Schwann cells sensitivity to visible light irradiation in vitro, and feasibility of a light inducible system in Schwann cells for neurite outgrowth enhancement in vitro. Congrats David!!
Dr. Koppes receives the 2020 Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award
Dr. Koppes was named the 2020 Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award recipient. “[The award] is offered each year to stimulate research careers in biomedical engineering. The recipient will present the 20-minute Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Lecture and publish the text of the lecture in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.” Congrats Dr. Koppes!!! Award Notification: https://www.bmes.org/blog_home.asp?Display=324 […]