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).
Abby Featured in Northeastern University Feature Article
Abby is featured in a News@Northeastern article titled, “If cells could talk … actually, they do. But what are they saying?” Details included below: Abigail Koppes, assistant professor of chemical engineering, is isolating cell groups on tiny plastic chips, enabling her team to observe the specific roles of cells that have gotten lost in the noise […]
ABNEL Welcomes New PhD Students Kyla and Kirstie
ABNEL welcomes Kyla Nichols and Kirstie Belanger as new PhD students. Kyla comes from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (B.S. Biomedical Engineering) and Kirstie is joining on rotation from the University of Maine (B.S. Biomedical Engineering).