How intestinal neurons act in a region-specific manner

Intrinsic enteric neurons (iENs) in the gastrointestinal tract within the myenteric and submucosal plexus emerge as crucial regulators of gut peristalsis and  immune responses in the intestine, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear.

The researchers show that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)  differentially regulates iEN activation in different intestinal segments.

Deletion of AHR in neurons increased iEN activation in the ileum but, conversely, decreased it in the colon in response to different intestinal pathogens.

They also show that neuronal AHR deficiency enhanced the clearance of bacterial pathogens, which was associated with increased proliferation and abundance of group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3) in the ileum.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)00295-5

https://sciencemission.com/Intestinal-region-specific-functions-of-AHR