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).
Samson and Tina Present in Research Showcase!
Samson Cantor and Tina Tailor presented their summer research on thermal bonding of microfluidic chips. They worked in the lab as part of the Young Scholars Program during their break before the start of their senior year in High School. They were advised by Adam Bindas. Congrats on the great work!
Minhal Presents a TEDx
Minhal presented a talk digging into some of the exciting new research into the gut microbiome. Details on the talk below: How does our gut speak to us? This talk explores the fascinating new evidence linking the bacteria in our gut to various unexpected aspects of our health, including psychological disorders like anxiety and depression. […]