The Surface Contact Glia

1. 1 Brief History The diversity of cells constituting the central nervous system did not deceive last century neurohistologists in recognizing that this organ contained essentially two cell types: the nerve cells, or as termed according to the emerging concept of neural contiguity, the neurons, and the neuroglial cells. Neurons were clearly shown to be the means of excitability, impulse generation, impulse transmission, and connectivity in the neural tissue. The neuroglia, as indicated by its name (YAloc=cement or glue) given by Virchow (1860), was thought to be the cement ing material ensuring the coherence of the nervous tissue, filling in the spaces of the neuropil, and isolating neuronal cell bodies. While this supposedly passive role did not attract multidisciplinary research on the neuroglia, successful efforts were made to extend our knowledge of the physiology, morphology, and bio chemistry of neurons. As a result of this, the investigation of the neuroglia carried out in the first half of this century was mainly confined to morphology, often as a by-product of comprehensive analyses of neuronal systems. At any rate, the histological classification of the neuroglia was accomplished, laying a framework which has been used to the present day. Accordingly, the glia was divided into two major groups: the macro- and microglia. The former comprises two further subclasses, the astroglia and oligodendroglia.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a complex neural network embedded in the gut wall that orchestrates the reflex behaviors of the intestine. The ENS is often referred to as the “little brain” in the gut because the ENS is more similar in size, complexity and autonomy to the central nervous system (CNS) than other components of the autonomic nervous system. Like the brain, the ENS is composed of neurons that are surrounded by glial cells. Enteric glia are a unique type of peripheral glia that are similar to astrocytes of the CNS. Yet enteric glial cells also differ from astrocytes in many important ways. The roles of enteric glial cell populations in the gut are beginning to come to light and recent evidence implicates enteric glia in almost every aspect of gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. However, elucidating the exact mechanisms by which enteric glia influence gastrointestinal physiology and identifying how those roles are altered during gastrointestinal pathophysiology remain areas of intense research. The purpose of this e-book is to provide an introduction to enteric glial cells and to act as a resource for ongoing studies on this fascinating population of glia. Table of Contents: Introduction / A Historical Perspective on Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia: The Astroglia of the Gut / Molecular Composition of Enteric Glia / Development of Enteric Glia / Functional Roles of Enteric Glia / Enteric Glia and Disease Processes in the Gut / Concluding Remarks / References / Author Biography

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