ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2013
On the origin of rhythmic contractile activity of the esophagus in early achalasia, a clinical case study.
Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interstitial Cells of Cajal Remodeling as a Mechanistic Insight Into the Natural History of Achalasia: Lessons From 3 Clinical Cases.Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility · 2026Article
- A specialized population of intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal regulates motility within the mouse oesophagogastric junction.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- Immunohistochemical characterization of interstitial cells and their spatial relationship to motor neurons within the mouse esophagus.Cell and tissue research · 2025Article
- Immunohistochemical characterization of interstitial cells and their relationship to motor neurons within the mouse esophagus.Research square · 2024Article
- CaPhysiological reviews · 2024Review
- The Use of Intraoperative Esophageal Functional Luminal Imaging Probe for Prediction of Therapeutic Outcomes in Achalasia Patients.Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility · 2023Article
- The rhythm and rate of distension-induced esophageal contractility: A physiomarker of esophageal function.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2020Article
- A Case Illustrating the Natural Progression of Type III to Type II Achalasia.Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology · 2018Article
- Ineffective esophageal motility and the vagus: current challenges and future prospects.Clinical and experimental gastroenterology · 2016Review
- Electrophysiological Mechanisms of Gastrointestinal Arrhythmogenesis: Lessons from the Heart.Frontiers in physiology · 2016Review
- Mechanisms of Electrical Activation and Conduction in the Gastrointestinal System: Lessons from Cardiac Electrophysiology.Frontiers in physiology · 2016Review
- Molecular and Cellular Characteristics of the Colonic Pseudo-obstruction in Patients With Intractable Constipation.Journal of neurogastroenterology and motility · 2015Article
- The myogenic and neurogenic components of the rhythmic segmentation motor patterns of the intestine.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
A patient with early achalasia presented spontaneous strong rhythmic non-propulsive contractions at ~7/min, independent of swallows. Our aim was to evaluate characteristics of the rhythmic contractions, provide data on the structure of pacemaker cells in the esophagus and discuss a potential role for interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the origin of rhythmicity. We hypothesize that intramuscular ICC (ICC-IM) are the primary pacemaker cells. The frequency but not the amplitude of the rhythmic contractions was inhibited by the phosphodiesterase inhibitor drotaverine consistent with cAMP inhibiting pacemaker currents in ICC-IM. The frequency increased by wet swallows but not dry swallows, consistent with stretch causing increase in slow wave frequency in ICC-IM. New studies on archival material showed that ICC-IM were present throughout the human esophageal musculature and were not diminished in early achalasia. Although ICC-IM exhibited a low density, they were connected to PDGFRα-positive fibroblast-like cells with whom they formed a dense gap junction coupled network. Nitrergic innervation of ICC was strongly diminished in early achalasia because of the loss of nitrergic nerves. It therefore appears possibly that ICC-IM function as pacemaker cells in the esophagus and that the network of ICC and PDGFRα-positive cells allows for coupling and propagation of the pacemaker activity. Loss of nitrergic innervation to ICC in achalasia may render them more excitable such that its pacemaker activity is more easily expressed. Loss of propagation in achalasia may be due to loss of contraction-induced aboral nitrergic inhibition.
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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 OpenQuestion graph.