Innervation of the gastric mucosa

Abstract

A plethora of neuronal messengers (“classical” transmitters, gaseous messengers, amino acid transmitters, and neuropeptides) are capable of mediating or modulating gastric functions. Accordingly, the stomach is richly innervated. Gastric nerves are either intrinsic to the gastric wall, i.e., they have their cell bodies in the intramural ganglia and thus belong to the enteric nervous system, or they reach the stomach from outside, originating in the brainstem, in sympathetic ganglia, or in sensory ganglia. Topographically, the nerve fibers in the stomach reach all layers from the most superficial portions of the gastric glands to the outer smooth muscle layer. This wide distribution implies that virtually all different cell types may be reached by neuronal messengers. Within the gastric mucosa endocrine and paracrine cells (e.g., gastrin cells, ECL cells, somatostatin cells), exocrine cells (parietal cells, chief cells, mucous cells), smooth muscle cells, and stromal cells are regulated by neuronal messengers. The sensory innervation, responding to capsaicin, plays an important role in mucosal protection, and in ulcer healing. Presumably also other nerves are involved and a plasticity in the neuropeptide expression has been demonstrated at the margin of gastric ulcers. Taken together, available data indicate a complex interplay between hormones, paracrine messengers and neuronal messengers, growth factors and cytokines in the regulation of gastric mucosal activities such as secretion, local blood flow, growth, and restitution after damage. Microsc. Res. Tech. 48:241–257, 2000 © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Expression of substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide and galanin in cultured myenteric neurons from the ovine abomasums

“…Over the last years, the morphology of the gastric myenteric plexus and the neurochemical coding of its neurons have been extensively studied using many different techniques (for a review see Ekblad et al, 2000). Both radioimmunoassay (Ferrante et al, 1991;Hannibal et al, 1998;El-Salhy, 1999), and immunocytochemistry (recently Jarvinen et al, 1999;Reiche and Schemann, 1999;Vanden Berghe et al, 1999;Hu et al, 2002;Pfannkuche et al, 2003;Pimont et al, 2003) have revealed that neuronal elements of the stomach express a wide spectrum of various neurotransmitters including neuropeptides.…”

The protease-activated receptor-2 agonist induces gastric mucus secretion and mucosal cytoprotection

“…It is also of note that CGRP and neurokinin A synergistically increased mucus secretion. The gastric mucosal protection exerted by CGRP, which has been well described, is considered to be attributable to the suppressed acid output and/or increased mucosal blood flow caused by CGRP (32,33,36,37). Taken together with the most recent study indicating modulation by CGRP of mucin synthesis in rat gastric mucosa (38), our results would add stimulation of mucus secretion to the list of the potential mechanisms underlying the gastric mucosal protection due to CGRP.…”

“…play an important role in mucosal protection (32,33) and may be stimulated by the PAR-2 agonist as described above. CGRP, administered intravenously in a dose range of 0.028-2.8 nmol/kg, in combination with amastatin, remarkably triggered secretion of gastric mucus in a dosedependent manner (Figure 3a, left panel).…”

Immunological role of neuronal receptor vanilloid receptor 1 expressed on dendritic cells

“…TRPM8 and TRPA1 are activated by cold temperatures (1)(2)(3)(4). In addition to certain sensory neurons, selected TRPV members have been reported to be expressed on mast cells (5) and in the gastric mucosa (6).…”