Whole gut imaging allows quantification of all enteric neurons in the adult zebrafish intestine.

Background: A fundamental understanding of the enteric nervous system in normal and diseased states is limited by the lack of standard measures of total enteric neuron number. The adult zebrafish is a useful model in this context as it is amenable to in toto imaging of the intestine. We leveraged this to develop a technique to image and quantify all enteric neurons within the adult zebrafish intestine and applied this method to assess the relationship between intestinal length and total enteric neuron number.

Case-control study of the association of chronic acid suppression and social determinants of health with COVID-19 infection.

Acid suppressants are widely-used classes of medications linked to increased risks of aerodigestive infections. Prior studies of these medications as potentially reversible risk factors for COVID-19 have been conflicting. We aimed to determine the impact of chronic acid suppression use on COVID-19 infection risk while simultaneously evaluating the influence of social determinants of health to validate known and discover novel risk factors.

enteric neurogenesis in post-embryonic zebrafish from Schwann cell precursors rather than resident cell types.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is essential for normal gastrointestinal function. Although the embryonic origin of enteric neurons from the neural crest is well established, conflicting evidence exists regarding postnatal enteric neurogenesis. Here, we address this by examining the origin of neurogenesis in the post-embryonic zebrafish ENS.

Deriving human ENS lineages for cell therapy and drug discovery in Hirschsprung disease.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is the largest component of the autonomic nervous system, with neuron numbers surpassing those present in the spinal cord. The ENS has been called the 'second brain' given its autonomy, remarkable neurotransmitter diversity and complex cytoarchitecture. Defects in ENS development are responsible for many human disorders including Hirschsprung disease (HSCR).

Generation of tissue-engineered small intestine using embryonic stem cell-derived human intestinal organoids.

Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is characterized by poor nutrient absorption due to a deficit of healthy intestine. Current treatment practices rely on providing supportive medical therapy with parenteral nutrition; while life saving, such interventions are not curative and are still associated with significant co-morbidities. As approaches to lengthen remaining intestinal tissue have been met with only limited success and intestinal transplants have poor survival outcomes, new approaches to treating SBS are necessary.

Human and Murine Tissue-Engineered Colon Exhibit Diverse Neuronal Subtypes and Can Be Populated by Enteric Nervous System Progenitor Cells When Donor Colon Is Aganglionic.

Purpose: Tissue-engineered colon (TEC) might potentially replace absent or injured large intestine, but the enteric nervous system (ENS), a key component, has not been investigated. In various enteric neuropathic diseases in which the TEC is derived from aganglionic donor colon, the resulting construct might also be aganglionic, limiting tissue engineering applications in conditions such as Hirschsprung disease (HD). We hypothesized that TEC might contain a diverse population of enteric neuronal subtypes, and that aganglionic TEC can be populated by neurons and glia when supplemented with ENS progenitor cells in the form of neurospheres.

Murine and human tissue-engineered esophagus form from sufficient stem/progenitor cells and do not require microdesigned biomaterials.

Purpose: Tissue-engineered esophagus (TEE) may serve as a therapeutic replacement for absent foregut. Most prior esophagus studies have favored microdesigned biomaterials and yielded epithelial growth alone. None have generated human TEE with mesenchymal components.

Enteric nervous system cell replacement therapy for Hirschsprung disease: beyond tissue-engineered intestine.

Hirschsprung disease (HD), a neurocristopathy characterized by failed migration of neural crest cells to the distal colon, requires surgical resection of the aganglionic segment. Advances in stem cell and regenerative medicine research have opened the possibility to treat HD less invasively using enteric nervous system (ENS) cell replacement therapy. This article reviews the progress to date of culturing and delivering ENS stem cells in various in vitro and in vivo models, as well as review the available evidence of functionality of the transplant-derived cells.

Health and human rights education in U.S. schools of medicine and public health: current status and future challenges.

Background: Despite increasing recognition of the importance of human rights in the protection and promotion of health, formal human rights education has been lacking in schools of medicine and public health. Our objectives were: 1) to determine the nature and extent of health and human rights (HHR) education among schools of medicine (SOMs) and public health (SPHs); 2) to identify perceived barriers to implementing HHR curricula; 3) to learn about deans' interests and attitudes toward HHR education, and; 4) to identify factors associated with offering HHR education.

Methods And Principal Findings: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among deans of all accredited allopathic SOMs and SPHs in the United States and Puerto Rico.