Enteric neural regulation of barrier function in the intestine

单层上皮细胞排列在胃肠道（GI）是外部环境和身体内部之间的重要屏障。通过这个屏障调节渗透性的能力存在于根尖连接复合物的水平上。根尖连接复合体由上皮的紧密和粘附性连接组成，是通过肠上皮运动的两个障碍之一；另一个是分泌障碍。分泌屏障包括抗菌肽、粘液和液体。大量的工作表明，分泌是由神经机制调节的，该机制将肠道屏障功能与消化过程结合起来。相比之下，人们对肠顶端连接复合体的神经控制知之甚少。我们的目标是通过测试肠神经支配通过改变紧密连接蛋白的表达和定位来调节上皮屏障功能的一般假设来解决我们知识中的这一重大空白。

The single layer of epithelial cells that line the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is an essential barrier between the external environment and the inside of the body. The ability to regulate permeability through this barrier resides at the level of the apical junctional complex. The apical junctional complex consists of the tight and adherence junctions of the epithelium and is one of two barriers to movement through the intestinal epithelium; the other being a secretory barrier. The secretory barrier includes antimicrobial peptides, mucus and fluid. Considerable work has revealed that secretion is regulated by neural mechanisms that integrate barrier function with digestive processes in the gut. By comparison, far less is known about the neural control of the apical junctional complex on the intestine. We aim to address this significant gap in our knowledge by testing the general hypothesis that the innervation of the intestine regulates epithelial barrier function by altering the expression and localization of tight junction proteins.