@article{BurnsGoldsteinNewgreenetal.2016,
  author    = {Burns, Alan J. and Goldstein, Allan M. and Newgreen, Donald F. and Stamp, Lincon and Sch{\"a}fer, Karl-Herbert and Metzger, Marco and Hotta, Ryo and Young, Heather M. and Andrews, Peter W. and Thapar, Nikhil and Belkind-Gerson, Jaime and Bondurand, Nadege and Bornstein, Joel C. and Chan, Wood Yee and Cheah, Kathryn and Gershon, Michael D. and Heuckeroth, Robert O. and Hofstra, Robert M.W. and Just, Lothar and Kapur, Raj P. and King, Sebastian K. and McCann, Conor J. and Nagy, Nandor and Ngan, Elly and Obermayr, Florian and Pachnis, Vassilis and Pasricha, Pankaj J. and Sham, Mai Har and Tam, Paul and Vanden Berghe, Pieter},
  title     = {White paper on guidelines concerning enteric nervous system stem cell therapy for enteric neuropathies},
  series = {Developmental Biology},
  volume    = {417},
  journal   = {Developmental Biology},
  number    = {2},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.ydbio.2016.04.001},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-187415},
  pages     = {229-251},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Over the last 20 years, there has been increasing focus on the development of novel stem cell based therapies for the treatment of disorders and diseases affecting the enteric nervous system (ENS) of the gastrointestinal tract (so-called enteric neuropathies). Here, the idea is that ENS progenitor/stem cells could be transplanted into the gut wall to replace the damaged or absent neurons and glia of the ENS. This White Paper sets out experts' views on the commonly used methods and approaches to identify, isolate, purify, expand and optimize ENS stem cells, transplant them into the bowel, and assess transplant success, including restoration of gut function. We also highlight obstacles that must be overcome in order to progress from successful preclinical studies in animal models to ENS stem cell therapies in the clinic.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{WeiderWegenerSchmittetal.2015,
  author    = {Weider, Matthias and Wegener, Am{\´e}lie and Schmitt, Christian and K{\"u}spert, Melanie and Hillg{\"a}rtner, Simone and B{\"o}sl, Michael R. and Hermans-Borgmeyer, Irm and Nait-Oumesmar, Brahim and Wegner, Michael},
  title     = {Elevated in vivo levels of a single transcription factor directly convert satellite glia into oligodendrocyte-like cells},
  series = {PLoS Genetics},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {PLoS Genetics},
  number    = {2},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1005008},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-144123},
  pages     = {e1005008},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating glia of the central nervous system and ensure rapid saltatory conduction. Shortage or loss of these cells leads to severe malfunctions as observed in human leukodystrophies and multiple sclerosis, and their replenishment by reprogramming or cell conversion strategies is an important research aim. Using a transgenic approach we increased levels of the transcription factor Sox10 throughout the mouse embryo and thereby prompted Fabp7-positive glial cells in dorsal root ganglia of the peripheral nervous system to convert into cells with oligodendrocyte characteristics including myelin gene expression. These rarely studied and poorly characterized satellite glia did not go through a classic oligodendrocyte precursor cell stage. Instead, Sox10 directly induced key elements of the regulatory network of differentiating oligodendrocytes, including Olig2, Olig1, Nkx2.2 and Myrf. An upstream enhancer mediated the direct induction of the Olig2 gene. Unlike Sox10, Olig2 was not capable of generating oligodendrocyte-like cells in dorsal root ganglia. Our findings provide proof-of-concept that Sox10 can convert conducive cells into oligodendrocyte-like cells in vivo and delineates options for future therapeutic strategies.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{HetzAcikgoezVossetal.2014,
  author    = {Hetz, Susan and Acikgoez, Ali and Voss, Ulrike and Nieber, Karen and Holland, Heidrun and Hegewald, Cindy and Till, Holger and Metzger, Roman and Metzger, Marco},
  title     = {In Vivo Transplantation of Neurosphere-Like Bodies Derived from the Human Postnatal and Adult Enteric Nervous System: A Pilot Study},
  series = {PLOS ONE},
  volume    = {9},
  journal   = {PLOS ONE},
  number    = {4},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0093605},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-116793},
  pages     = {e93605},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Recent advances in the in vitro characterization of human adult enteric neural progenitor cells have opened new possibilities for cell-based therapies in gastrointestinal motility disorders. However, whether these cells are able to integrate within an in vivo gut environment is still unclear. In this study, we transplanted neural progenitor-containing neurosphere-like bodies (NLBs) in a mouse model of hypoganglionosis and analyzed cellular integration of NLB-derived cell types and functional improvement. NLBs were propagated from postnatal and adult human gut tissues. Cells were characterized by immunohistochemistry, quantitative PCR and subtelomere fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). For in vivo evaluation, the plexus of murine colon was damaged by the application of cationic surfactant benzalkonium chloride which was followed by the transplantation of NLBs in a fibrin matrix. After 4 weeks, grafted human cells were visualized by combined in situ hybridization (Alu) and immunohistochemistry (PGP9.5, GFAP, SMA). In addition, we determined nitric oxide synthase (NOS)-positive neurons and measured hypertrophic effects in the ENS and musculature. Contractility of treated guts was assessed in organ bath after electrical field stimulation. NLBs could be reproducibly generated without any signs of chromosomal alterations using subtelomere FISH. NLB-derived cells integrated within the host tissue and showed expected differentiated phenotypes i.e. enteric neurons, glia and smooth muscle-like cells following in vivo transplantation. Our data suggest biological effects of the transplanted NLB cells on tissue contractility, although robust statistical results could not be obtained due to the small sample size. Further, it is unclear, which of the NLB cell types including neural progenitors have direct restoring effects or, alternatively may act via 'bystander' mechanisms in vivo. Our findings provide further evidence that NLB transplantation can be considered as feasible tool to improve ENS function in a variety of gastrointestinal disorders.},
  language  = {en}
}