# Gut Neuroendocrine Cell Signaling

> **NIH VA I01** · DURHAM VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in severe movement
disorders and gastrointestinal symptoms such as gastroparesis and constipation. The cause of PD is unknown
and there is no cure for the disease. PD is common in the VA and over 40,000 veterans are treated in VA
medical facilities each year. There is evidence that environmental toxins such as the pesticide, rotenone, and
the herbicide, Agent Orange, may play a role in causing Parkinson’s disease. Military veterans exposed to
Agent Orange have an increased incidence of PD and the Institute of Medicine concluded in its report
“Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008”, that "exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during
the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing Parkinson's disease." As a result, VA
recognized that PD was associated with exposure to Agent Orange during military service. Despite the
association between environmental toxin exposure and PD, how environmental toxins cause PD is unknown.
 The pathological hallmarks of PD are cytoplasmic inclusions known as Lewy bodies in the brain and
enteric nervous system. These inclusions are associated with degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the
substantia nigra pars compacta which produces the distinctive disorders of movement and vagal nerve
dysfunction. The major component of Lewy pathology is aggregated α-synuclein, a synaptic protein with the
propensity to misfold and aggregate. Misfolded α-synuclein plays a critical role in PD pathogenesis and recent
evidence supports a model in which propagation of Lewy pathology occurs via cell-to-cell transmission of
misfolded α-synuclein onto recipient cells. Misfolded α-synuclein recruits native α-synuclein in the recipient
cell and acts as a template or nidus for the development of aggregates that eventually lead to formation of
Lewy bodies and ultimately PD. There is evidence that PD starts in the gut before affecting the brain. For
example, α-synuclein, which is found in an abnormal form in the brains of PD patients, appears in abnormal
form in gut nerves before it appears in the brain. Moreover, cutting the vagus nerve (vagotomy) reduces the
risk of developing PD. Nevertheless, understanding how environmental toxins cause the abnormal form of α-
synuclein to form in the nervous system of the gut is lacking.
 Enteroendocrine cells (EECs) are specialized sensory cells in the lining of the gut. In this location,
EECs are exposed to food and ingested environmental toxins. We recently made two important discoveries.
First, we discovered that EECs connect to nerves, thus providing a direct route from the intestine to the brain.
Second, we discovered that EECs express α-synuclein and may be the source of abnormal α-synuclein that
could spread to the brain. To investigate this possibility, we will perform proof-of-concept studies to
characterize α-synuclein in EECs using a model of EECs in vitro, intestinal organoids that...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9815321
- **Project number:** 5I01BX002230-06
- **Recipient organization:** DURHAM VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Rodger A. Liddle
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-04-01 → 2022-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9815321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9815321, Gut Neuroendocrine Cell Signaling (5I01BX002230-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9815321. Licensed CC0.

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