Muscularis macrophages, housekeepers of enteric nervous system integrity and intestinal homeostasis, modulate α-synuclein pathology and neurodegeneration in models of Parkinson’s disease, and understanding the accompanying mechanisms could pave the way for early-stage biomarkers.

The secretory heparan sulphate proteoglycans perlecan, agrin, collagen18A1 are expressed in the periganglionic sheath of enteric ganglia in resectates of Hirschsprung's disease patients and non-Hirsc...

Wang et al. reveal a neuroanatomical and functional crosstalk between cholinergic enteric neurons and sensory neurons of the dorsal root ganglia that mediates colonic interoception. While this…

Many commonly used fluorescent proteins form dimers producing artifacts in a variety of experimental settings. Learn how to avoid these artifacts.

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Published online: 24 July 2025; doi:10.1038/s41575-025-01105-4Nutrient sensing and small intestinal enteric neurons

Calcium imaging of the mouse jejunum shows that specific nutrients in the intestinal lumen are detected by epithelial cells, which activate specific sets of enteric neurons through a serotonin-mediated signalling process.

Nature Neuroscience - The neuronal composition of the intestinal submucosal plexus is incompletely understood. Here Li et al. define their neuron classes, connectome and stepwise acquisition of...

Increasing serotonin in the lining of the gut improves anxiety and depression in animal studies and may offer new therapeutic approach during pregnancy to avoid newfound risk of digestive issues in ch...

Intrinsic enteric neurons (iENs) emerge as crucial regulators of immune responses in the intestine, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Sun et al. show that AHR differentially regulates iEN activation in different intestinal segments and that AHR expression in neurons constrains ILC3 responses and antibacterial immunity in the ileum.

Expression and functional analysis define how Piezo1-dependent cholinergic responses by enteric neurons directly sense luminal pressure to orchestrate digestion and inflammation in mice.

Hamnett, Bendrick, et al. identify two populations of glutamatergic enteric neurons—longitudinal descending interneurons and a previously unreported population of circumferential neurons. They observe that these VGLUT2+ neurons form synaptic contact with…

Light scattering in biological tissue presents a significant challenge for deep in vivo imaging. Our previous work demonstrated the ability to achieve optical transparency in live mice using intensely...

Serotonergic enterochromaffin cells of the intestine exhibit distinct sensory, secretory and physiological properties depending on their location within the complex crypt–villus architecture of the gut.

Transcriptionally similar neurons can be functionally diverse.

Researchers are uncovering the complex connection between your gut and brain.

The inner lining of the small intestine nearly doubles in size during pregnancy and breastfeeding, according to new research in mice and human tissue.

The set of proteins present at synapses determines their heterogeneous functions and properties. In this Review, van Oostrum and Schuman describe the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the d...

Antibiotics inhibit production of the protective mucus in the colon, thus predisposing to gut inflammation.

Enteric neurons control gut physiology by regulating peristalsis, nutrient absorption, and secretion