Enteroendocrine Cells and the Gut Connectome

Rodger’s interest in CCK launched a lifelong study of enteroendocrine cells and their hormones. He characterized new mouse models for studying gut hormones using enteroendocrine cells expressing the green fluorescent protein. These models led to the discovery that enteroendocrine cells have many neuron-like features including basal processes known as “neuropods”. His laboratory conducted pioneering studies to characterize the structure and function of neuropods and has proposed novel studies to describe how enteroendocrine cells communicate with the nervous system. This newly discovered neural circuit is a point of communication between food and bacteria in the gut and the nervous system. We call this connection the first step in the gut connectome. This network opens the door for understanding how pathogens or toxicants can access the nervous system.