Cited by 246Gastrointestinal motility and disordersNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Astrocyte-like glia in the peripheral nervous system: an immunohistochemical study of enteric glia

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Jessen, KR, Mirsky, R·1983·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

The similarities between the enteric nervous system of the gut and the central nervous system (CNS), both of which function as complex integrative nervous networks, include striking ultrastructural similarities between the glia of the enteric nervous system and the astrocytic glia of the CNS. In this paper we have determined whether this anatomical resemblance also extends to the molecular level by examining the enteric glial cells to see whether they express several surface and intracellular molecules which are highly restricted to glia and to astrocytes in particular. Indirect immunofluorescence was used to visualize the antigens in frozen sections of gut wall and in whole mount, tissue culture, and freshly dissected preparations of myenteric and submucous plexuses from rats of various ages. It was found that enteric glial cells expressed the intracellular proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein, glutamine synthetase, and vimentin both in situ and in culture. The surface antigen Ran-2 was expressed in situ but not in culture, and the surface antigen Ran-1 was expressed in culture but not in situ. Cultured enteric glial cells did not express fibronectin in significant quantity, nor did they make galactocerebroside. From these results we conclude that the adult phenotype of enteric glia in situ closely resembles that of astrocytes, while in culture some of their cell surface features change, reverting to those seen during development. Because these cells possess distinctive molecular features and numerically form one of the major populations of peripheral glia, it is appropriate to classify them as a third distinctive category of peripheral glial cells, in addition to satellite and Schwann cells. The molecular similarities between these cells and astrocytes, in addition to their anatomical resemblance, suggest that a further study of enteric glia will provide new insights into the role of glia in integrative nervous tissues.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.03-11-02206.1983

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  • Enteric ganglia share some morphological similarities to CNS astrocytes.

    “It has been shown that enteric ganglia share some morphological similarities to CNS astrocytes (Jessen and Mirsky, 1983), which lie adjacent to enteric neuronal cell bodies, which are very much like glia in the CNS (Yoo and Mazmanian, 2017).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Jessen and Mirsky, 1983

    The Abstract (p. 2206) describes striking ultrastructural similarities between enteric glia and CNS astrocytes, and the discussion describes their morphological resemblance. The source compares glial cells, however, not enteric ganglia as a whole. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Authors
Jessen, K., & Mirsky, R.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
1983-11-01
Volume
3
Issue
11
Pages
2206-2218
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W1495439714
Cited by
246
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 7
FWCI
14.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
enteric glial cells, enteric nervous system, glial fibrillary acidic protein, glutamine synthetase, vimentin, fibronectin, galactocerebroside, myenteric plexus, submucosal plexus, peripheral glia, glial cell culture
MeSH terms
Animals, Antigens, Surface, Astrocytes, Fibronectins, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Galactosylceramides, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase, Histocytochemistry, Intermediate Filament Proteins, Intestine, Small, Neuroglia, Peripheral Nerves, Surface Properties, Vimentin, Rats

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