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Biomedicines
Volume 11
Issue 6
10.3390/biomedicines11061560
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Review

Beyond the Microbiota: Understanding the Role of the Enteric Nervous System in Parkinson’s Disease from Mice to Human

by
Martina Montanari
1,2,
Paola Imbriani
1,3,
Paola Bonsi
1,
Giuseppina Martella
1,*,† and
Antonella Peppe
3,*,†
1
Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Plasticity, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00143 Rome, Italy
2
Department of Systems Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
3
Clinical Neuroscience, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biomedicines 2023, 11(6), 1560; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061560
Submission received: 30 April 2023 / Revised: 23 May 2023 / Accepted: 25 May 2023 / Published: 27 May 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Biomedicines—Translational Laboratory and Experimental Medicine for the Sake of Neurological Diseases and Mental Illnesses)
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Abstract

The enteric nervous system (ENS) is a nerve network composed of neurons and glial cells that regulates the motor and secretory functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. There is abundant evidence of mutual communication between the brain and the GI tract. Dysfunction of these connections appears to be involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alterations in the ENS have been shown to occur very early in PD, even before central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Post-mortem studies of PD patients have shown aggregation of α-synuclein (αS) in specific subtypes of neurons in the ENS. Subsequently, αS spreads retrogradely in the CNS through preganglionic vagal fibers to this nerve’s dorsal motor nucleus (DMV) and other central nervous structures. Here, we highlight the role of the ENS in PD pathogenesis based on evidence observed in animal models and using a translational perspective. While acknowledging the putative role of the microbiome in the gut–brain axis (GBA), this review provides a comprehensive view of the ENS not only as a “second brain”, but also as a window into the “first brain”, a potentially crucial element in the search for new therapeutic approaches that can delay and even cure the disease.
Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; gut–brain axis; enteric nervous system; central nervous system; neurons; glia cells; non-motor symptoms; gastrointestinal dysfunction; microbiota; rodent models; clinical evidence Parkinson’s disease; gut–brain axis; enteric nervous system; central nervous system; neurons; glia cells; non-motor symptoms; gastrointestinal dysfunction; microbiota; rodent models; clinical evidence
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MDPI and ACS Style

Montanari, M.; Imbriani, P.; Bonsi, P.; Martella, G.; Peppe, A. Beyond the Microbiota: Understanding the Role of the Enteric Nervous System in Parkinson’s Disease from Mice to Human. Biomedicines 2023, 11, 1560. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061560

AMA Style

Montanari M, Imbriani P, Bonsi P, Martella G, Peppe A. Beyond the Microbiota: Understanding the Role of the Enteric Nervous System in Parkinson’s Disease from Mice to Human. Biomedicines. 2023; 11(6):1560. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061560

Chicago/Turabian Style

Montanari, Martina, Paola Imbriani, Paola Bonsi, Giuseppina Martella, and Antonella Peppe. 2023. "Beyond the Microbiota: Understanding the Role of the Enteric Nervous System in Parkinson’s Disease from Mice to Human" Biomedicines 11, no. 6: 1560. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061560

APA Style

Montanari, M., Imbriani, P., Bonsi, P., Martella, G., & Peppe, A. (2023). Beyond the Microbiota: Understanding the Role of the Enteric Nervous System in Parkinson’s Disease from Mice to Human. Biomedicines, 11(6), 1560. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11061560

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