Spontaneous calcium waves in the developing enteric nervous system

Abstract

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is an extensive network of neurons in the gut wall that arises from neural crest-derived cells. Like other populations of neural crest cells, it is known that enteric neural crest-derived cells (ENCCs) influence the behaviour of each other and therefore must communicate. However, little is known about how ENCCs communicate with each other. In this study, we used Ca2+ imaging to examine communication between ENCCs in the embryonic gut, using mice where ENCCs express a genetically-encoded calcium indicator. Spontaneous propagating calcium waves were observed between neighbouring ENCCs, through both neuronal and non-neuronal ENCCs. Pharmacological experiments sh..