Chemosensing in the Colon
Abstract It has been known for centuries that ingestion of certain foods and for decades that alteration of the gut microbiome by antibiotics or probiotics can have profound effects on…
Gastrointestinal Microbial Ecology With Perspectives on Health and Disease
Abstract The indigenous human microbiota is extremely diverse. New estimates of species richness, based upon culture-independent molecular techniques, put the total number of bacterial and archaeal “species” in the human…
Luminal Chemosensing and Mucosal Defenses in the Upper GI Tract
Abstract Recent discoveries of taste receptors in the lingual taste buds and the de-orphanization of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), including nutrient receptors and olfactory receptors, in addition to the previously…
Mucosal Restitution and Repair
Abstract The mammalian intestinal epithelium serves as a critical barrier between the host organism and the contents of the gut, providing for regulated uptake of food and fluid as well…
Microbial Physiology of the Digestive Tract and Its Role in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Abstract Microbes are essential for the health and normal functions of the gastrointestinal tract. However, gut microbes have also been implicated in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In…
Extrinsic Sensory Afferent Nerves Innervating the Gastrointestinal Tract in Health and Disease
Abstract Our gastrointestinal tract is innervated by specific classes of extrinsic sensory afferents, which follow either vagal or spinal pathways. Vagal afferents have cell bodies located within the nodose or…
Diet Effects on Gut Microbiome Composition, Function, and Host Physiology
Abstract The gut microbial community acts as a vector for mediating effects of diet on host physiology. Recent advances in the next-generation sequencing and mass spectrometry along with translatable animal…
Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Immune Development During Early Life
Abstract The postnatal period represents a crucial time for the developing mucosal immune system that coincides with early life colonization of the host by microbial pioneers and initial exposure to…
The Physiology and Pathophysiology of Interstitial Cells of Cajal: Pacemaking, Innervation, and Stretch Sensation
Abstract Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are part of the control system that orchestrates and regulates a diverse set of motor patterns in all parts of the gut to facilitate…
Enteric Nervous System: Brain-in-the-Gut
Abstract The enteric nervous system (ENS) is an independent “brain-in-the-gut” that integrates gastrointestinal motility, secretion, and blood flow into homeostatic patterns of gut behavior that have susceptibility to becoming clinically…
