Abdominal Key

Abstract The liver is a highly specialized organ that plays a pivotal role in the detoxification of numerous substances. Toxins enter hepatocytes via a dual blood supply provided by the…

Abstract The major pathways that the liver utilizes to take up and excrete various organic anions are mediated by several facilitative uptake transporters and ATP-dependent excretory pumps. Functions of the…

Abstract The intestinal tract performs one of the most basic biologic functions, namely the harvesting of nutrients from ingested food. Moreover, the intestine participates broadly in numerous aspects of metabolism…

Abstract This chapter will discuss major recent advances that have been made in our understanding of how the different functional and neurochemical classes of enteric neurons participate in neurogenic motor…

Abstract The adaptive immune system occurs is present in only the 1% of multicellular organisms that have a longer life span and the ability to supply the high cost of…

Abstract Since their discovery > 60 years ago, tuft cells have intrigued and mystified researchers. Early studies focused on the unique morphology of tuft cells and their distribution pattern across…

Abstract The gastrointestinal barrier is more than a tissue with physiological function. As reviewed by others, it is now recognized as a complex ecosystem that requires a delicate homeostatic balance…

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…

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…

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…