Telocytes’ Role in Modulating Gut Motility Function and Development: Medical Hypotheses and Literature Review

Abstract

This review article explores the telocytes’ roles in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), presenting the mechanisms and hypotheses related to epithelial regeneration, progressive fibrosis, and dysmotility as a consequence of TCs’ reduced or absent number. Based on the presented mechanisms and hypotheses, we aim to provide a functional model to illustrate TCs’ possible roles in the normal and pathological functioning of the digestive tract. TCs are influenced by the compression of nearby blood vessels and the degree of fibrosis of the surrounding tissues and mediate these processes in response. The changes in intestinal tube vascularization induced by the movement of the food bowl, and the consequent pH changes that show an anisotropy in the thickness of the intestinal tube wall, have led to the identification of a pattern of intestinal tube development based on telocytes’ ability to communicate and modulate surrounding cell functions. In the construction of the theoretical model, given the predictable occurrence of colic in the infant, the two-layer arrangement of the nerve plexuses associated with the intestinal tube was considered to be incompletely adapted to the motility required with a diversified diet. There is resulting evidence of possible therapeutic targets for diseases associated with changes in local nerve tissue development.

Different Contacted Cell Types Contribute to Acquiring Different Properties in Brain Microglial Cells upon Intercellular Interaction

“…Gja1 is a gap junction component that enables intercellular communication and regulates proliferation [ 42 ]. Although Gja1 plays an important role in brain homeostasis and brain diseases, its precise roles in specific cell types remain unclear [ 43 , 44 ]. Notably, while Gja1 was found to be involved in increasing AC and PC numbers, it also contributed to reducing EC numbers, indicating that ACs and PCs positively regulated the number of MGs via Gja1, while ECs reduced it.…”

Roles of telocytes dominated cell–cell communication in fibroproliferative acute respiratory distress syndrome

“…Recent reports showed that TCs could affect the proliferation and inflammation of fibroblasts in a non-contact coculture system. 12 Notably, there is evidence to support that TCs could help in preventing abnormal activation of immune cells and fibroblasts, as well as in attenuating the altered matrix organization during the fibrotic process.…”

“…TCs have been reported during the fibrotic remodelling of multiple organs in various diseases, including scleroderma, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and liver fibrosis, as well as in chronic inflammatory lesions like primary Sjögren's syndrome and psoriasis. Recent reports showed that TCs could affect the proliferation and inflammation of fibroblasts in a non‐contact coculture system 12 . Notably, there is evidence to support that TCs could help in preventing abnormal activation of immune cells and fibroblasts, as well as in attenuating the altered matrix organization during the fibrotic process.…”

Telocytes and Other Interstitial Cells 2.0: From Structure to Function

“…The role of telocytes in inflammatory bowel diseases is explored by Banciu et al who elaborated a theoretical model based on various mechanisms and hypotheses emitted over time in relation to the functions of telocytes in the interstitial space of different organs [21]. The paper reviews the main knowledge relating to the presence of, and morphological and quantitative changes in, telocytes in the inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome.…”

“…The paper reviews the main knowledge relating to the presence of, and morphological and quantitative changes in, telocytes in the inflammatory diseases of the digestive tract, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and irritable bowel syndrome. The hypothesis is based on pH changes, evolutionary changes in the intestinal flora in correlation with food variation, as well as mechanical changes (degree of distension) in the intestinal wall in correlation with the functional relationships of the telocytes with other cell types, nerve endings, and blood vessels [21]. The model, although theoretical, can reflect the functional complexity of these poorly understood cells-the telocytes.…”