Anatomy and Neuroscience - Research Publications

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    Morphologies and distributions of 5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells in the mouse large intestine
    Kuramoto, H ; Koo, A ; Fothergill, LJ ; Hunne, B ; Yoshimura, R ; Kadowaki, M ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2021-05)
    Serotonin (5-HT)-containing gastrointestinal endocrine cells contribute to regulation of numerous bodily functions, but whether these functions are related to differences in cell shape is not known. The current study identified morphologies and localization of subtypes of 5-HT-containing enteroendocrine cells in the mouse large intestine. 5-HT cells were most frequent in the proximal colon compared with cecum and distal colon. The large intestine harbored both open (O) cells, with apical processes that reached the lumen, and closed (C) cells, not contacting the lumen, classified into O1, O2, and O3 and C1, C2, and C3 cells, by the lengths of their basal processes. O1 and C1 cells, with basal processes sometimes longer that 100 µm, were most common in the distal colon. Their long basal processes ran against the inner surfaces of the mucosal epithelial cells and were strongly immunoreactive for 5-HT; these processes are ideally placed to communicate with the epithelium and to react to mechanical forces. O2 and C2 cells that had similar but shorter basal processes were also most common in the distal colon. O3 and C3 cells had no or very short basal processes. The O3 open type 5-HT cells were abundant in the proximal colon, particularly at the luminal surface, where they could release 5-HT into the lumen to act on luminal 5-HT receptors. Numerous O3 type 5-HT cells occurred in the lower (submucosal) region of the crypts in all segments and might release 5-HT to influence cell renewal in the crypt proliferative zones.
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    5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells characterised by morphologies, patterns of hormone co-expression, and relationships with nerve fibres in the mouse gastrointestinal tract
    Koo, A ; Fothergill, LJ ; Kuramoto, H ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2021-06)
    5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells (EEC), the most abundant type of EEC in the gut, regulate many functions including motility, secretion and inflammatory responses. We examined the morphologies of 5-HT cells from stomach to rectum, patterns of hormone co-expression in the stomach and colon, and the relationship of 5-HT cells with nerve fibres. We also reviewed some of the relevant literature. The morphologies of 5-HT cells were distinct, depending on their location in the gut. A noticeable feature of some 5-HT cells in the antrum and colon was their long basal processes, which resembled processes of neurons, whereas 5-HT cells in the small intestinal mucosa lacked basal processes. In the stomach, numerous 5-HT cells, including cells with basal processes, were identified as enterochromaffin-like cells by their expression of histidine decarboxylase. In the colon, we observed a small number of 5-HT cells that were in close contact with, but distinct from, oxyntomodulin (OXM) and PYY immunoreactive EEC. We did not find specific relationships between nerve fibres and the processes of colonic 5-HT cells. We conclude that five major features, i.e., gut region, morphology, hormone content, receptor repertoire and cell lineage, can be used to define 5-HT cells.
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    Morphologies, dimensions and targets of gastric nitric oxide synthase neurons
    Di Natale, MR ; Hunne, B ; Liew, JJM ; Fothergill, LJ ; Stebbing, MJ ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2022-04)
    We investigated the distributions and targets of nitrergic neurons in the rat stomach, using neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) immunohistochemistry and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) diaphorase histochemistry. Nitrergic neurons comprised similar proportions of myenteric neurons, about 30%, in all gastric regions. Small numbers of nitrergic neurons occurred in submucosal ganglia. In total, there were ~ 125,000 neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) neurons in the stomach. The myenteric cell bodies had single axons, type I morphology and a wide range of sizes. Five targets were identified, the longitudinal, circular and oblique layers of the external muscle, the muscularis mucosae and arteries within the gastric wall. The circular and oblique muscle layers had nitrergic fibres throughout their thickness, while the longitudinal muscle was innervated at its inner surface by fibres of the tertiary plexus, a component of the myenteric plexus. There was a very dense innervation of the pyloric sphincter, adjacent to the duodenum. The muscle strands that run between mucosal glands rarely had closely associated nNOS nerve fibres. Both nNOS immunohistochemistry and NADPH histochemistry showed that nitrergic terminals did not provide baskets of terminals around myenteric neurons. Thus, the nitrergic neuron populations in the stomach supply the muscle layers and intramural arteries, but, unlike in the intestine, gastric interneurons do not express nNOS. The large numbers of nNOS neurons and the density of innervation of the circular muscle and pyloric sphincter suggest that there is a finely graded control of motor function in the stomach by the recruitment of different numbers of inhibitory motor neurons.
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    Heterogeneity of enterochromaffin cells within the gastrointestinal tract
    Diwakarla, S ; Fothergill, LJ ; Fakhry, J ; Callaghan, B ; Furness, JB (WILEY, 2017-06)
    Enterochromaffin cells were the first endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract to be chemically distinguished, almost 150 years ago. It is now known that the chromaffin reaction of these cells was due to their content of the reactive aromatic amine, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, also known as serotonin). They have commonly been thought to be a special class of gut endocrine cells (enteroendocrine cells) that are distinct from the enteroendocrine cells that contain peptide hormones. The study by Martin et al. in the current issue of this journal reveals that the patterns of expression of nutrient receptors and transporters differ considerably between chromaffin cells of the mouse duodenum and colon. However, even within regions, chromaffin cells differ; in the duodenum there are chromaffin cells that contain both secretin and 5-HT, cholecystokinin and 5-HT, and all three of secretin, cholecystokinin, and 5-HT. Moreover, the ratios of these different cell types differ substantially between species. And, in terms of function, 5-HT has many roles, including in appetite, motility, fluid secretion, release of digestive enzymes and bone metabolism. The paper thus emphasizes the need to define the many different classes of enterochromaffin cells and relate this to their roles.
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    Chronic isolation stress is associated with increased colonic and motor symptoms in the A53T mouse model of Parkinson's disease
    Diwakarla, S ; Finkelstein, DI ; Constable, R ; Artaiz, O ; Di Natale, M ; McQuade, RM ; Lei, E ; Chai, X-Y ; Ringuet, MT ; Fothergill, LJ ; Lawson, VA ; Ellett, LJ ; Berger, JP ; Furness, JB (WILEY, 2020-03)
    BACKGROUND: Chronic stress exacerbates motor deficits and increases dopaminergic cell loss in several rodent models of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, little is known about effects of stress on gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction, a common non-motor symptom of PD. We aimed to determine whether chronic stress exacerbates GI dysfunction in the A53T mouse model of PD and whether this relates to changes in α-synuclein distribution. METHODS: Chronic isolation stress was induced by single-housing WT and homozygote A53T mice between 5 and 15 months of age. GI and motor function were compared with mice that had been group-housed. KEY RESULTS: Chronic isolation stress increased plasma corticosterone and exacerbated deficits in colonic propulsion and whole-gut transit in A53T mice and also increased motor deficits. However, our results indicated that the novel environment-induced defecation response, a common method used to evaluate colorectal function, was not a useful test to measure exacerbation of GI dysfunction, most likely because of the reported reduced level of anxiety in A53T mice. A53T mice had lower corticosterone levels than WT mice under both housing conditions, but single-housing increased levels for both genotypes. Enteric neuropathy was observed in aging A53T mice and A53T mice had a greater accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αsyn) in myenteric ganglia under both housing conditions. CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES: Chronic isolation stress exacerbates PD-associated GI dysfunction, in addition to increasing motor deficits. However, these changes in GI symptoms are not directly related to corticosterone levels, worsened enteric neuropathy, or enteric αsyn accumulation.
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    Distribution and characterisation of CCK containing enteroendocrine cells of the mouse small and large intestine
    Fakhry, J ; Wang, J ; Martins, P ; Fothergill, LJ ; Hunne, B ; Prieur, P ; Shulkes, A ; Rehfeld, JF ; Callaghan, B ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2017-08)
    There is general consensus that enteroendocrine cells, EEC, containing the enteric hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) are confined to the small intestine and predominate in the duodenum and jejunum. Contrary to this, EEC that express the gene for CCK have been isolated from the large intestine of the mouse and there is evidence for EEC that contain CCK-like immunoreactivity in the mouse colon. However, the human and rat colons do not contain CCK cells. In the current study, we use immunohistochemistry to investigate CCK peptide presence in endocrine cells, PCR to identify cck transcripts and chromatography to identify CCK peptide forms in the mouse small and large intestine. The colocalisation of CCK and 5-HT, hormones that have been hypothesised to derive from cells of different lineages, was also investigated. CCK immunoreactivity was found in EEC throughout the mouse small and large intestine but positive cells were rare in the rectum. Immunoreactive EEC were as common in the caecum and proximal colon as they were in the duodenum and jejunum. CCK gene transcripts were found in the mucosa throughout the intestine but mRNA for gastrin, a hormone that can bind some anti-CCK antibodies, was only found in the stomach and duodenum. Characterisation of CCK peptides of the colon by extraction, chromatographic separation and radioimmunoassay revealed bioactive amidated and sulphated forms, including CCK-8 and CCK-33. Moreover, CCK-containing EEC in the large intestine bound antibodies that target the biologically active sulfated form. Colocalisation of CCK and 5-HT occurred in a proportion of EEC throughout the small intestine and in the caecum but these hormones were not colocalised in the colon, where there was CCK and PYY colocalisation. It is concluded that authentic, biologically active, CCK occurs in EEC of the mouse large intestine.
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    Diversity of enteroendocrine cells investigated at cellular and subcellular levels: the need for a new classification scheme
    Fothergill, LJ ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2018-12)
    Enteroendocrine cells were historically classified by a letter code, each linked to a single hormone, deduced to be the only hormone produced by the cell. One type, the L cell, was recognised to store and secrete two products, peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-related peptides. Many other exceptions to the one-cell one-hormone classifications have been reported over the last 40 years or so, and yet the one-hormone dogma has persisted. In the last 6 years, a plethora of data has appeared that makes the concept unviable. Here, we describe the evidence that multiple hormone transcripts and their products reside in single cells and evidence that the hormones are often, but not always, processed into separate storage vesicles. It has become clear that most enteroendocrine cells contain multiple hormones. For example, most secretin cells contain 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), and in mouse many of these also contain cholecystokinin (CCK). Furthermore, CCK cells also commonly store ghrelin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), neurotensin, and PYY. Several hormones, for example, secretin and 5-HT, are in separate storage vesicles at a subcellular level. Hormone patterns can differ considerably between species. Another complication is that relative levels of expression vary substantially. This means that data are significantly influenced by the sensitivities of detection techniques. For example, a hormone that can be detected in storage vesicles by super-resolution microscopy may not be above threshold for detection by conventional fluorescence microscopy. New nomenclature for cell clusters with common attributes will need to be devised and old classifications abandoned.
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    Dopamine and ghrelin receptor co-expression and interaction in the spinal defecation centers
    Furness, JB ; Pustovit, R ; Syder, AJ ; Ringuet, MT ; Yoo, EJ ; Fanjul, A ; Wykosky, J ; Fothergill, LJ ; Whitfield, EA ; Furness, SGB (WILEY, 2021-05)
    BACKGROUND: Dopamine receptor 2 (DRD2) and ghrelin receptor (GHSR1a) agonists both stimulate defecation by actions at the lumbosacral defecation center. Dopamine is in nerve terminals surrounding autonomic neurons of the defecation center, whereas ghrelin is not present in the spinal cord. Dopamine at D2 receptors generally inhibits neurons, but at the defecation center, its effect is excitatory. METHODS: In vivo recording of defecation and colorectal propulsion was used to investigate interaction between DRD2 and GHSR1a. Localization studies were used to determine sites of receptor expression in rat and human spinal cord. KEY RESULTS: Dopamine, and the DRD2 agonist, quinpirole, directly applied to the lumbosacral cord, caused defecation. The effect of intrathecal dopamine was inhibited by the GHSR1a antagonist, YIL781, given systemically, but YIL781 was not an antagonist at DRD2. The DRD2 agonist, pramipexole, administered systemically caused colorectal propulsion that was prevented when the pelvic nerves were cut. Drd2 and Ghsr were expressed together in autonomic preganglionic neurons at the level of the defecation centers in rat and human. Behaviorally induced defecation (caused by water avoidance stress) was reduced by the DRD2 antagonist, sulpiride. We had previously shown it is reduced by YIL781. CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES: Our observations imply that dopamine is a transmitter of the defecation pathways whose actions are exerted through interacting dopamine (D2) and ghrelin receptors on lumbosacral autonomic neurons that project to the colorectum. The results explain the excitation by dopamine agonists and the conservation of GHSR1a in the absence of ghrelin.
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    Quantitation and chemical coding of enteroendocrine cell populations in the human jejunum
    Coles, TEF ; Fothergill, LJ ; Hunne, B ; Nikfarjam, M ; Testro, A ; Callaghan, B ; McQuade, RM ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2020-01)
    Recent studies reveal substantial species and regional differences in enteroendocrine cell (EEC) populations, including differences in patterns of hormone coexpression, which limit extrapolation between animal models and human. In this study, jejunal samples, with no histologically identifiable pathology, from patients undergoing Whipple's procedure were investigated for the presence of gastrointestinal hormones using double- and triple-labelling immunohistochemistry and high-resolution confocal microscopy. Ten hormones (5-HT, CCK, secretin, proglucagon-derived peptides, PYY, GIP, somatostatin, neurotensin, ghrelin and motilin) were localised in EEC of the human jejunum. If only single staining is considered, the most numerous EEC were those containing 5-HT, CCK, ghrelin, GIP, motilin, secretin and proglucagon-derived peptides. All hormones had some degree of colocalisation with other hormones. This included a population of EEC in which GIP, CCK and proglucagon-derived peptides are costored, and four 5-HT cell populations, 5-HT/GIP, 5-HT/ghrelin, 5-HT/PYY, and 5-HT/secretin cell groups, and a high degree of overlap between motilin and ghrelin. The presence of 5-HT in many secretin cells is consistent across species, whereas lack of 5-HT and CCK colocalisation distinguishes human from mouse. It seems likely that the different subclasses of 5-HT cells subserve different roles. At a subcellular level, we examined the vesicular localisation of secretin and 5-HT, and found these to be separately stored. We conclude that hormone-containing cells in the human jejunum do not comply with a one-cell, one-hormone classification and that colocalisations of hormones are likely to define subtypes of EEC that have different roles.
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    Analysis of enteroendocrine cell populations in the human colon
    Martins, P ; Fakhry, J ; de Oliveira, EC ; Hunne, B ; Fothergill, LJ ; Ringuet, M ; Reis, DD ; Rehfeld, JF ; Callaghan, B ; Furness, JB (SPRINGER, 2017-02)
    Recent studies have shown that patterns of colocalisation of hormones in enteroendocrine cells are more complex than previously appreciated and that the patterns differ substantially between species. In this study, the human sigmoid colon is investigated by immunohistochemistry for the presence of gastrointestinal hormones and their colocalisation. The segments of colon were distant from the pathology that led to colectomy and appeared structurally normal. Only four hormones, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), peptide YY (PYY) and somatostatin, were common in enteroendocrine cells of the human colon. Cholecystokinin, present in the colon of some species, was absent, as were glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide, ghrelin and motilin. Neurotensin cells were extremely rare. The most numerous cells were 5-HT cells, some of which also contained PYY or somatostatin and very rarely GLP-1. Almost all GLP-1 cells contained PYY. It is concluded that enteroendocrine cells of the human colon, like those of other regions and species, exhibit overlapping patterns of hormone colocalisation and that the hormones and their patterns of expression differ between human and other species.