Burns A J, Pasricha P J, Young H M
Neural Development Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2004 Apr;16 Suppl 1:3-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1743-3150.2004.00466.x.
The enteric nervous system arises from two regions of the neural crest; the vagal neural crest which gives rise to the vast majority of enteric neurones throughout the gastrointestinal tract, and the sacral neural crest which contributes a smaller number of cells that are mainly distributed within the hindgut. The migration of vagal neural crest cells into, and along the gut is promoted by GDNF, which is expressed by the gut mesenchyme and is the ligand for the Ret/GFRalpha1 signalling complex present on migrating vagal-derived crest cells. Sacral neural crest cells enter the gut after it has been colonized by vagal neural crest cells, but the molecular control of sacral neural crest cell development has yet to be elucidated. Under the influence of both intrinsic and extrinsic cues, neural crest cells differentiate into glia and different types of enteric neurones at different developmental stages. Recently, the potential for neural stem cells to form an enteric nervous system has been examined, with the ultimate aim of using neural stem cells as a therapeutic strategy for some gut disorders where enteric neurones are reduced or absent.
肠神经系统起源于神经嵴的两个区域；迷走神经嵴产生整个胃肠道中绝大多数的肠神经元，而骶神经嵴贡献数量较少的细胞，主要分布在后肠。肠道间充质表达的胶质细胞源性神经营养因子（GDNF）促进迷走神经嵴细胞向肠道内迁移并沿肠道迁移，GDNF是迁移的迷走神经嵴源性细胞上存在的Ret/GFRalpha1信号复合体的配体。骶神经嵴细胞在迷走神经嵴细胞定植肠道后进入肠道，但骶神经嵴细胞发育的分子调控机制尚未阐明。在内在和外在信号的影响下，神经嵴细胞在不同发育阶段分化为神经胶质细胞和不同类型的肠神经元。最近，人们研究了神经干细胞形成肠神经系统的潜力，其最终目的是将神经干细胞用作治疗某些肠神经元减少或缺失的肠道疾病的一种治疗策略。
