DRG-derived Neural Progenitors Generate Functional Enteric Neurons In The Postnatal Colon Afther Transplantation

The intestinal normal function depends on its extensive connections of nerves and muscles,which is important for digestion,absorption and excretion.The lesions in the enteric nervous system will greatly influence its normal function,reduce the quality of life,and bring burden to the society and family.Throughout the current treatments,cell therapy has great promise for treating gastrointestinal motility disorders caused by diseases of the enteric nervous system.However,it is currently difficult to define the optimal source of cells for enteric neuronal replacement,and studies on the effectiveness of cell types other than enteric neural stem cells and human embryonic stem cells are limited.Here we show that neural progenitors derived from the dorsal root ganglion of EGFP mice survived,differentiated into enteric neurons and glia cells,migrated widely from the site of injection,and expressed synaptic structural protein and generated electricity physiological activities following transplantation into the distal colon of postnatal mice.The exogenous EGFP+neurons were physiologically functional as shown by the activity of calcium imaging.This study broadens the range of cell candidates for the anatomic and functional replacement of enteric nervous system cells.It also shows that that other tissue besides the postnatal bowel harbor neural crest stem cells or neural progenitors that have the potential of differentiation into functional enteric neuron in vivo and can potentially be used for intestinal nerve regeneration.The gain of knowledge provided by our study appears important for the development of cell therapy to treat the intestine neuropathy.