Carbone Simona Elisa
Drug Discovery Biology, Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Monash University, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2022;1383:251-258. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-05843-1_24.
Neurons of the enteric nervous system (ENS) are the primary controllers of gastrointestinal functions. Although the ENS has been the central focus of research areas such as motility, this has now expanded to include the modulatory roles that non-neuronal cells have on neuronal function. This review discusses how enteric glia (EGC) and resident muscularis macrophages (mMacs) influence ENS communication. It highlights how the understanding of neuroglia interactions has extended beyond EGCs responding to exogenously applied neurotransmitters. Proposed mechanisms for neuron-EGC and glio-glia communication are discussed. The significance of these interactions is evidenced by gut functions that rely on these processes. mMacs are commonly known for their roles as immune cells which sample and respond to changes in the tissue environment. However, a more recent theory suggests that mMacs and enteric neurons are mutually dependent for their maintenance and function. This review summarizes the supportive and contradictory evidence for this theory, including potential mechanisms for mMac-neuron interaction. The need for a more thorough classification scheme to define how the "state" of mMacs relates to neuron loss or impaired function in disease is discussed. Despite the growing literature suggesting EGCs and mMacs have supportive or modulatory roles in ENS communication and gut function, conflicting evidence from different groups suggests more investigation is required. A broader understanding of why enteric neurons may need assistance from EGCs and mMacs in neurotransmission is still missing.
肠神经系统（ENS）的神经元是胃肠功能的主要控制者。尽管ENS一直是诸如运动性等研究领域的核心焦点，但现在其研究范围已扩大到包括非神经元细胞对神经元功能的调节作用。本综述讨论了肠胶质细胞（EGC）和驻留肌层巨噬细胞（mMacs）如何影响ENS的通讯。它强调了对神经胶质细胞相互作用的理解如何超越了EGC对外源性应用神经递质的反应。讨论了神经元与EGC以及胶质细胞与胶质细胞通讯的潜在机制。这些相互作用的重要性通过依赖于这些过程的肠道功能得到了证明。mMacs通常以其作为免疫细胞的角色而闻名，它们对组织环境的变化进行采样并做出反应。然而，最近的一种理论表明，mMacs和肠神经元在维持和功能方面相互依赖。本综述总结了支持和反驳该理论的证据，包括mMac与神经元相互作用的潜在机制。讨论了需要一个更全面的分类方案来定义mMacs的“状态”与疾病中神经元丢失或功能受损之间的关系。尽管越来越多的文献表明EGC和mMacs在ENS通讯和肠道功能中具有支持或调节作用，但不同研究小组的相互矛盾的证据表明还需要更多的研究。目前仍缺乏对肠神经元在神经传递中为何可能需要EGC和mMacs协助的更广泛理解。
