Physiology, Injury, and Recovery of Interstitial Cells of Cajal: Basic and Clinical Science
published online 23 September 2009.
In the last 15 years, our understanding of the cellular basis of gastrointestinal function has been altered irreversibly by the discovery that normal gastrointestinal (GI) motility requires interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC). Research in this relatively short time period has modified our original concept that the core unit that controls motility is made up of nerves and smooth muscle, to one that now includes ICC. This concept has now expanded to beyond the GI tract, suggesting that it may be a fundamental property of the regulation of smooth muscle function that requires rhythmic contraction. ICC are distributed throughout the GI tract, have important functions in the control of GI motility, and are often abnormal in diseased states. Recently, significant steps forward have been made in our understanding of the physiology of ICC as well as mechanisms of injury and recovery. These advances are the focus of this review.
⁎Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
‡Queen Mary University London, Academic Surgical and Neurogastroenterology Units, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom
§Enteric Neuroscience Program, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
Reprint requests Address requests for reprints to: Jan D. Huizinga, PhD, Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Health Sciences Center, room 3N8, Hamilton, L8N3Z5, Ontario, Canada
Conflict of interest The authors disclose no conflicts.
Funding Supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (MOP 12874), the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, and the National Institutes of Health (DK 57061 and DK68055).
PREVIEW