Hyper-excitability of celiac postganglionic neurons evoked by TNBS-induced ileitis

The enteric nervous system (ENS) provides the intrinsic innervation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Extrinsic neurons, both from sympathetic efferent pathways and from spinal and vagal afferent pathways, also innervate the GIT. Sympathetic neurons act at the level of the ENS to control motility and secretion and at the level of the arterioles to control blood flow. Profound changes in the electrical and synaptic properties of enteric neurons, as well as of dorsal root ganglion neurons, occur after the GIT has been inflamed. Whether sympathetic neurons are also affected by intestinal inflammation had not been investigated.