The Importance of the Enteric Glia and its Related Product S100b Protein in Gut Inflammation

The urgent need of new pharmacological approaches that mayenlarge the tools against inflammatory bowel diseases, loweringside effects and costs of the actually-used drugs is a very importantchallenge for gastroenterologists and pharmacologists. This shortcommunication is aimed to highlight the importance of enteric gliaand its derived signaling molecule S100B in the pathogenesis ofchronic inflammation occurring in the gut. Once hyper-secreted,S100B, a small signaling diffusible Ca2+/Zn2+-binding protein,orchestrates a massive pro-inflammatory reaction in the gut, throughthe paracrine induction of nitric oxide and the recruitment of immunecells in the mucosa. A better understanding of the mechanisms bywhich enteric glia may trigger and perpetuate gut inflammationmay address scientists to selectively target this cell population anddecrease S100B overproduction may thus represent a significantinnovation in this sense and open the field to novel therapies forinflammatory bowel diseases.