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Colonization of the Lower Urinary Tract by Neural Crest and Development of Pelvic Autonomic Innervation
Author(s) -
SouthardSmith E Michelle
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2018.32.1_supplement.367.2
Subject(s) - neural crest , urethra , anatomy , autonomic ganglion , biology , urinary system , neuroscience , urinary bladder , medicine , urology , microbiology and biotechnology , embryo
The development of organs occurs concurrently with the formation of nerves that are essential for normal function. In the lower urinary tract, comprised of the bladder and urethra, appropriate innervation is essential for storage and coordinated release of urine at socially acceptable times. Understanding how the innervation of the lower urinary tract develops and the signaling pathways that regulate this process is likely to provide insight into congenital problems and offers a means to regenerate neural inputs in cases of damage or disease. The bladder and urethra receive both sensory and autonomic neural inputs that are derived from the neural crest during development. Sensory innervation of the bladder originates from neural crest‐derived dorsal root ganglia at thoracic and sacral spinal levels. Pelvic autonomic sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons that provide motor effects and play a principle role in coordinating bladder contractility are located within the discrete ganglia that lie near the neck of the bladder and proximal urethra. Formation of these mixed pelvic ganglia from neural crest, the routes of neural crest migration into the fetal urogenital sinus, timing of pelvic ganglia neural differentiation, and signaling pathways that regulate these processes are active areas of investigation that are being rapidly advanced through the use of mouse models. An overview of studies undertaken in transgenic mice to derive a spatiotemporal map of neural crest derivatives in the developing lower urinary tract as well as a timeline of differentiation of pelvic ganglia neurons and initial analysis of signaling pathways active during pelvic ganglia neuron differentiation will be presented. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01‐DK078158, RC1‐DK086594, and U01‐DK101038. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .