Vagus nerve stimulation has shown promise in treating inflammatory bowel disease. A new study identifies a hepatic vagal branch pathway necessary to maintain colonic immune cell homeostasis in experimental colitis, challenging the dogma that an anti-inflammatory reflex requires an intact spleen and that α7-nicotinic receptor agonists are a panacea for inflammatory conditions.
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Acknowledgements
A.A. and G.L. are both supported by grants from NIH-NIDDK.
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de Araujo, A., de Lartigue, G. Non-canonical cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in IBD. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 17, 651–652 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0356-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0356-y