美国加州理工学院Yuki Oka团队近期取得重要工作进展，他们研究提出，器官特异性交感神经支配决定内脏功能。相关研究成果2024年11月27日在线发表于《自然》杂志上。

据介绍，自主神经系统通过交感神经和副交感神经通路协调大脑和身体的功能。然而，人们在细胞和分子水平上对自主神经系统，特别是交感神经系统的理解严重有限。

研究人员展示了主腹交感神经节复合体中单个内脏器官的拓扑表征。通过多模态转录组分析，研究人员在腹腔-肠系膜上神经节（CG-SMG）中鉴定出分子上不同的交感神经群体。单个CG-SMG群体对内脏器官表现出选择性和互斥的轴突投射，靶向胃肠道或包括胰腺和胆道在内的分泌区。

这种组合神经支配模式表明不同CG-SMG群体之间存在功能分离。事实上，神经扰动实验表明，一类神经元调节胃肠道转运，另一类神经元独立于肠道运动控制消化和胰高血糖素分泌。

总之，这一研究揭示了分子多样性的交感神经系统，并表明交感神经群体对内脏器官功能的模块化调节。

附：英文原文

Title: Organ-specific sympathetic innervation defines visceral functions

Author: Wang, Tongtong, Teng, Bochuan, Yao, Dickson R., Gao, Wei, Oka, Yuki

Issue&Volume: 2024-11-27

Abstract: The autonomic nervous system orchestrates the functions of the brain and body through the sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways1. However, our understanding of the autonomic system, especially the sympathetic system, at the cellular and molecular levels is severely limited. Here we show topological representations of individual visceral organs in the major abdominal sympathetic ganglion complex. Using multi-modal transcriptomic analyses, we identified molecularly distinct sympathetic populations in the coeliac–superior mesenteric ganglia (CG–SMG). Of note, individual CG–SMG populations exhibit selective and mutually exclusive axonal projections to visceral organs, targeting either the gastrointestinal tract or secretory areas including the pancreas and bile tract. This combinatorial innervation pattern suggests functional segregation between different CG–SMG populations. Indeed, our neural perturbation experiments demonstrated that one class of neurons regulates gastrointestinal transit, and another class of neurons controls digestion and glucagon secretion independent of gut motility. These results reveal the molecularly diverse sympathetic system and suggest modular regulation of visceral organ functions by sympathetic populations.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08269-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08269-0