Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39390033›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Limited evidence for anatomical contacts between intestinal GLP-1 cells and vagal neurons in male mice.

Newton Cao, Warda Merchant, Laurent Gautron

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Gut-brain communication: types of sensory nerves and mechanisms of activation.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2026
    Review
  4. Mechanisms and clinical implications of gut-brain interactions.The Journal of clinical investigation · 2026
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Spinal sensory innervation of the intestine.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Newton Cao *Department of Internal Medicine, Center for Hypothalamic Research, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Warda Merchant *Department of Internal Medicine, Center for Hypothalamic Research, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
Laurent GautronDepartment of Internal Medicine, Center for Hypothalamic Research, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA. Laurent.Gautron@UTSouthwestern.edu.

Funding

UT Southwestern Medical Center Simmons Comprehensive Cancer CenterP30CA142543 · NCI · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Carlos L Arteaga · 2010 to 2026
$53.7M
The Arcuate Nucleus: A Genetic Assessment of FunctionP01DK056116 · NIDDK · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · PI KAHN, BARBARA B. · 1999 to 2010
$15.6M
Ventromedial Hypothalamic Regulation of Metabolic Changes Induced by ExerciseP01DK119130 · NIDDK · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI ELMQUIST, JOEL K. · 2019 to 2023
$10.0M
UT Southwestern NORCP30DK127984 · NIDDK · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Jeffrey M Zigman · 2022 to 2026
$7.4M
Laser Scanning Confocal for UT Southwestern Live Cell Imaging FacilityS10OD021684 · OD · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI LUBY-PHELPS, KATHERINE J · 2016 to 2016
$455k
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA142543NIDDK NIH HHS P01 DK056116NIDDK NIH HHS P01 DK119130NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK127984NIH HHS P01DK119130 (Core C)NIH HHS S10 OD021684
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The communication between intestinal Glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1)-producing cells and the peripheral nervous system has garnered renewed interest considering the availability of anti-obesity and anti-diabetic approaches targeting GLP-1 signaling. While it is well-established that intestinal GLP-1 cells can exert influence through paracrine mechanisms, recent evidence suggests the possible existence of synaptic-like connections between GLP-1 cells and peripheral neurons, including those of the vagus nerve. In this study, using a reporter Phox2b-Cre-Tomato mouse model and super-resolution confocal microscopy, we demonstrated that vagal axons made apparent contacts with less than 0.5% of GLP-1 cells. Moreover, immunohistochemistry combined with super-resolution confocal microscopy revealed abundant post-synaptic density 95 (PSD-95) immunoreactivity within the enteric plexus of the lower intestines of C57/BL6 mice, with virtually none in its mucosa. Lastly, utilizing RNAScope in situ hybridization in the lower intestines of mice, we observed that GLP-1 cells expressed generic markers of secretory cells such as Snap25 and Nefm, but neither synaptic markers such as Syn1 and Nrxn2, nor glutamatergic markers such as Slc17a7. Through theoretical considerations and a critical review of the literature, we concluded that intestinal GLP-1 cells primarily communicate with vagal neurons through paracrine mechanisms, rather than synaptic-like contacts.

Indexed as

Glucagon-Like Peptide 1NeuronsVagus NerveAnimalsMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLGlucagon-Like Peptide 1Gut-brain axisHistologySynapseTracingVagus nerve

Identifiers

PMID39390033
PMCPMC11467209

What Socratic holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.