To clarify the role of Ret signaling components in enteric nervous system (ENS) development, we evaluated ENS anatomy and intestinal contractility in mice heterozygous for Ret, GFRalpha1 and Ret ligands. These analyses demonstrate that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and neurturin are important for different aspects of ENS development. Neurturin is essential for maintaining t...

The study of mammalian neural crest development has been limited by the lack of an accessible system for in vivo transplantation of these cells. We have developed a novel transplantation system to study lineage restriction in the rodent neural crest. Migratory rat neural crest cells (NCCs), transplanted into chicken embryos, can differentiate into sensory, sympathetic, and parasympathetic neuro...

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract defines the digestive system and is composed of the stomach, intestine and colon. Among the major cell types lining radially along the GI tract are the epithelium, mucosa, smooth muscles and enteric neurons. The Hedgehog (Hh) pathway has been implicated in directing various aspects of the developing GI tract, notably the mucosa and smooth muscle growth, and enter...

The lysosomal storage pathology in Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IIIB manifests in cells of virtually all organs. However, it is the profound role of the neurological pathology that leads to morbidity and mortality in this disease, and has been the major challenge to developing therapies. To date, MPS IIIB neuropathologic and therapeutic studies have focused predominantly on changes in the centra...

Background: Opioids are amongst the most common abused drugs. Pathologic studies on opioid abuse are limited since the evaluation of inflammation and regeneration in brain tissue is not as simple as other tissues of the body. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between the dependence on morphine and inflammatory and regenerative processes. Methods: In this experimental s...

Background: The present study was designed to evaluate the secondary microglial activation processes after spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: A quantitative histological study was performed to determine ED-1 positive cells, glial cell density, and cavitation size in untreated SCI rats at days 1, 2, and 4, and weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4. Results: The results of glial cell quantification along the 4900...

the toll like (family of receptors tlr) are expressed primarily by immune cells and are known to be part of innate immune system. in the past decade involvement of tlrs in several physiologic and pathologic pathways has been proved. pain transmission via glial activation is one of such interesting fields. both pathological pain states and treatment have also been shown to be related to tlr-rela...

The aim of this study was to examine MAP kinase (ERK1/2) activation in the human neonatal colonic enteric nervous system. For this, we investigated by immunocytochemistry the cellular localization of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (P-ERK) in a series of normal human colon samples removed from newborns and in patients with intestinal obstruction such as Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR), stenosis and atresia...

background: in recent years, adipose tissue, due to the stem cells contained within, has found a new special place in laboratory and clinical applications. these adipose‑derived stem cells (adscs) have the same characteristics of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmscs). although bone marrow (bm) is not easily accessible and its procurements may be painful, most patients possess excess fat wh...