title: The enteric glia: identity and functions.
abstract: Enteric glial cells were first described at the end of the 19th century, but they attracted more interest from researchers only in the last decades of the 20th. Although, they have a different embryological origin, the enteric GLIA share many characteristics with astrocytes, the main glial cell type of the central nervous system (CNS), such as in their expression of the same markers and in their functions. Here we review the construction of the enteric nervous system (ENS), with a focus on enteric glia, and also the main studies that have revealed the action of enteric glia in different aspects of gastrointestinal tract homeostasis, such as in the intestinal barrier, in communications with neurons, and in their action as progenitor cells. We also discuss recent discoveries about the roles of enteric glia in different disorders that affect the ENS, such as degenerative pathologies including Parkinson's and prion diseases, and in cases of intestinal diseases and injury.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer, Secretaria de Estado de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro - SES/RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana de Mattos
authors.initials: Jde M
authors.lastname: Coelho-Aguiar
authors.forename: Ana Carina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Bon-Frauches
authors.forename: Ana Lúcia Tavares
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Carla Pires
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Veríssimo
authors.forename: Diego Pinheiro
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Aguiar
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Matias
authors.forename: Beatriz Bastos de Moraes
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Thomasi
authors.forename: Antoniella Souza
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Gerly Anne de Castro
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Brito
authors.forename: Vivaldo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Moura-Neto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D017615:Enteric Nervous System / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: astrocytes; differentiation; enteric glia; enteric nervous system; neural crest