Study of the neuroimmune interaction present in the intestine through enteric neurons and immune cells co-culture

• Grant number: 12/11165-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Luciano Freitas Felicio
• Grantee: Ilana Gabanyi
• Supervisor: Daniel Mucida
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Rockefeller University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/21856-5 - The role of neuroimunne regulation in the onset and progression of experimental inflamatory bowel disease, BP.DR

Abstract

Repercussions of the complex interaction between the nervous and immune system are the focus of neuroimmunemodulation (NIM) study. Many clinical evidences reveal NIM's importance in the intestine. Indeed, alterations in the enteric nervous system (ENS) are usually observed in gastrointestinal diseases. Due to its role in monitoring the biggest area of the body exposed to the environment, the intestinal immune system receives a large variety of immunogenic stimulus. The intestinal immunity must be finely regulated, keeping the balance among a tolerance response and a response against pathogens. Besides the contact with the environment, the intestine also has the larger concentration of lymphocytes and antibodies of the body and the higher number of neurons, outside the central nervous system, which compose the enteric nervous system. The ENS has approximately 100 millions neurons, which regulate most of the physiological functions of the gastrointestinal tract. Many studies reported structural and functional abnormalities of the ENS in patients with a gastrointestinal disease. In inflammatory and chronic conditions, alterations in both the immune and the nervous system may be determinant to comprehend the disease's physiopathology and therapeutic controls. Here we propose the use of an in vitro study model based on the enteric neurons and immune cells co-culture, to better understand the characteristics and functional consequences of the interaction between the ENS signs and the immune system components in an inflammatory process. (AU)