Theravive Home

A new study published in Cell and Tissue Research looked at the identification of vagal afferent nerve endings in the mouse colon and their spatial relationship with enterochromaffin cells.

“The purpose of this study was to identify for the first time, the sensory nerve endings of the vagus nerve in the inner lining (called the mucosa) of the colon,” study author Nick Spencer told us. “We were hoping to visualise the nerve endings, see what they look like and how far apart are they from the cells that make and release serotonin (called enterochromaffin (EC) cells).”

The research team doubted earlier suggestions that EC cells make synaptic connections with vagal afferent nerve endings and decided to do this study because understanding how the gut communicates with the brain and how serotonin activates the brain is of major importance to health and disease.

“We used an intricate and very challenging neuronal tracing technique (called anterograde tracing) from the brain to identify the sensory nerve endings of the vagus nerve,” Spencer told us. “We found EC cells that release serotonin do not make synaptic connections with vagal sensory endings, rather they (EC cells) communicate via diffusion.”

The research team was not surprised with the results. They expected what they found and said earlier suggestions seemed far-fetched.

“Moving forward, we have a much clearer picture on how a number of drugs (like anti-depressants) may work,” Spencer told us. “We are only in the early stages of understanding the complexities of the nervous system and how the gut and brain communicate.”