Mechanisms of Enteric Neuron Diversification

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Normal gastrointestinal (GI) motility is an essential prerequisite for nutrient absorption, fecal elimination and overall health. Nearly a quarter of the United States population is affected by intestinal disorders that lead to abnormal GI motility, chronic constipation and other functional bowel disorders. Greater understanding of the mechanisms that regulate differentiation of enteric neural progenitors (ENPs), which form the neurons and glia of the enteric nervous system (ENS), are needed to understand how the normal complement of functional enteric neurons within the intestine is generated. Sox10 is an essential transcription factor that functions in the neural crest derived progenitors that generate the ENS. Defects in Sox10 in patients and mice cause aganglionosis of the distal intestine leading to megacolon. Recent studies of Sox10 mutant mice have identified pronounced alterations of the ratios of different enteric neuron types in proximal innervated bowel of these animals that are accompanied by abnormal intestinal transit and motility. Although Sox10 is expressed in ENPs, these deficiencies among enteric neurons were unexpected because Sox10 is extinguished as neurons begin to differentiate, although its expression is sustained in enteric glia. The results suggest that Sox10 has greater roles in ENS development than simply promoting migration of ENPs during initial phases when the fetal gut is first colonized by progenitors. In the proposed analysis we will test the overarching hypothesis that Sox10 action in ENPs orchestrates transcriptional networks and chromatin accessibility setting in motion a regulatory cascade that orchestrates diversity of enteric neuron subtypes. In Aim 1 we will test the hypothesis that the mutant alleles of Sox10 alter enteric neuron ratios by disrupting transcriptional hierarchies in ENPs using single cell RNA sequencing (scRNASeq). In Aim 2 we will examine the hypothesis that Sox10 mutants disrupt chromatin accessibility in developing ENS lineages. Integration of information from these studies and validation of interacting gene effects in neural crest cultures will distinguish between potential developmental mechanisms that generate the normal repertoire of enteric neuron subtypes and will facilitate efforts to direct differentiation of enteric neurons for treatment of GI disease.