Journal article

Early development of electrical excitability in the mouse enteric nervous system

MM Hao, AE Lomax, SJ McKeown, CA Reid, HM Young, JC Bornstein

Journal of Neuroscience | Published : 2012

Abstract

Neural activity is integral to the development of the enteric nervous system (ENS). A subpopulation of neural crest-derived cells expresses pan-neuronal markers at early stages of ENS development (at E10.5 in the mouse). However, the electrical activity of these cells has not been previously characterized, and it is not known whether all cells expressing neuronal markers are capable of firing action potentials (APs). In this study, we examined the activity of "neuron"-like cells (expressing pan-neuronal markers or with neuronal morphology) in the gut of E11.5 and E12.5 mice using whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology and compared them to the activity of neonatal and adult enteric neurons...

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Australian Research Council Discovery Grant DP0878755 (H.M.Y. and J.C.B.). We thank Dr. Ernest Jennings (James Cook University, Australia) for help with patch-clamp experimental technique, Dr. John Furness (University of Melbourne, Australia) for assistance with equipment, Dr. Kazuto Kobayashi (Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan) for providing the TH-GFP mice, and Dr. Vanda Lennon (Mayo Clinic, USA) for providing the Hu antiserum.