Unravelling the complexities of the stomach’s control systems

• Dr Madeleine Di Natale, Professor John Furness

  Project Leader/Supervisor

  j.furness@unimelb.edu.au
  

Project Details

The stomach is the portal to the digestive tract.  It regulates appetite and controls the delivery of nutrients to the small intestine where they are absorbed. To serve these functions, it has an extensive intrinsic (enteric) nervous system plus nerve and hormonal connections with the brain and intestines. Moreover, it contains specialized cells that direct its rhythmic activities.

Just how these sophisticated control systems are orchestrated is not well understood, which holds back the development of therapies for gastric disorders.

The stomach tells the brain about its state: How full it is, what is the nature of its contents, are any toxins present. The brain reacts by eliciting feelings of hunger, satiety, fullness, nausea or wellness. In turn, the brain tells the stomach what to do, after integrating other information, including the sight, smell and proximity of food. The intestine tells the stomach about its digestive capacity in relation to nutrient load and the stomach reacts by changing emptying and acid secretion.

In this project you will use advanced methods to unravel these control systems, including collaborating with other research groups in Australia, the USA and New Zealand.

Researchers

Dr Madeleine Di Natale, Professor John Furness, Ms Billie Hunne

Collaborators

Dr Xiaokai Wang and Professor Zhongming Liu (University of Michigan, USA)

Dr Lincon Stamp and Dr Marlene Hao, Department of Anatomy and Physiology

Associate Professor Peng Du and Professor Leo Cheng (Auckland University, NZ).

Research Publications

Di Natale MR, Athavale ON, Wang X, Du P, Cheng LK, Liu Z, Furness JB: Functional and anatomical gastric regions and their relations to motility control. Neurogast Motil, e14560 (2023) doi.org/10.1111/nmo.14560

Di Natale, MR, Hunne, B, Stebbing, MJ, Wang, X, Liu, ZM, Furness, JB: Characterization of neuromuscular transmission and projections of muscle motor neurons in the rat stomach.  Am J Physiol – GI and Liver 326, G78-G93 (2024). doi.org/10.1152/ajpgi.00194.2023

Wang, X, Cao, J, Han, K, Choi, M, She, Y, Scheven, U, Du, P, Cheng, L, Di Natale, MR, Furness, JB, Liu, Z:  Diffeomorphic surface modeling for MRI-based characterization of gastric anatomy and motility.  IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (TBME) 70, 2046-2057 (2023) doi.org/10.1109/TBME.2023.3234509

Di Natale MR, Hunne B, Liew JJM, Fothergill LJ, Stebbing MJ, Furness JB:Morphologies, dimensions and targets of gastric nitric oxide synthase neurons. Cell and Tissue Research 388, 19-32 (2022) doi.org/10.1007/s00441-022-03594-0.

Avci R, Wickens JD, Sangi M, Athavale ON, Di Natale MR, Furness JB, Du P, Cheng LK.: A computational model of biophysical properties of the rat stomach informed by comprehensive analysis of muscle anatomy. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology 2022, 4954-4957 (2022). Doi: 10.1109/EMBC48229.2022.9871314

Di Natale MR, Patten L, Molero JC,Stebbing, MJ, Hunne B, Wang X, Liu Z, Furness, JB: Organisation of the musculature of the rat stomach.  J Anat. 240, 711-723 (2022) doi: 10.1111/joa.13587

Wang X, Cao J, Han K, Choi M, She Y, Scheven U, Avci R, Du P, Cheng LK, Di Natale MR, Furness JB. Diffeomorphic Surface Modeling for MRI-Based Characterization of Gastric Anatomy and Motility. EEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 70, 2046-2057 (2023) doi: 10.1109/TBME.2023.3234509.

Furness, JB, Di Natale, MR, Hunne, B, Oparija, L, Ward, SM, Sasse, KC, Powley, TL, Stebbing, MJ, Jaffey, J, Fothergill, LJ. The identification of neuronal control pathways supplying effector tissues in the stomach.  Cell Tissue Res 382, 433–445(2020).  doi.org/10.1007/s00441-020-03294-7