< Back to previous page

Project

Deciphering the information flow from the gut lumen to the nervous system in health and unbalanced diet conditions

The gastrointestinal tract is a crucial passageway via which a variety of nutrients like sugars, fats, proteins, but also noxious substances pass the body every day. Therefore, the epithelium and mucosal cell layers lining the gut need to constantly monitor the contents in its lumen. In addition to simply absorbing nutrients, a variety of different cells and mechanisms in the epithelium are important for deciphering the different types of nutrients that we have ingested. The enteroendocrine cells are able to secret signaling molecules that are taken up by the blood stream but are also used to communicate with the nervous system. How this communication occurs and how information from the detection of different types of nutrients is encoded by the nervous system is not well understood. In this study, we will use transgenic mouse technology and a newly developed dual-lens multiphoton microscope to image nerve activity in response to applying different nutrients onto the epithelium, and different signaling molecules onto the nerve endings inside the mucosa. This technology will allow us to both image activity inside the mucosa and simultaneously monitor responses in different nerve layers further away from the stimulation site. This way we will examine the complex set of activity patterns triggered by different nutrients, which will contribute to our understanding of how this information can be delivered to and processed by the brain, and how this is changed by unbalanced diets.

Date:1 Jan 2018 →  31 Dec 2021
Keywords:Gut lumen, Nervous system, Information flow
Disciplines:Other biological sciences