After each one of those big meals you ate over the holidays, the cells lining your stomach and intestines released hormones into the bloodstream to signal the brain that you were full and should stop eating. Researchers at Duke University have now mapped out another system, a cell-to-cell connection between the gut and the nervous system, that may be a more direct messaging system to the brain than the release of hormones in the blood. Pictured here is an image taken from 3-D electron microscopy that reveals the structure of what is dubbed a ‘neuropod’ - a cell in the gut that senses nutrient levels and sends signals that govern appetite, but isnt a neuron. The findings, which appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, also shed light on a potential new mechanism giving foodborne viruses access to the brain.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 21:36:39 +0000
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