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The neural and glial cells of the intrinsic ganglia of the enteric nervous system (ENS) are derived from the hindbrain neural crest at the vagal level. The Hoxb3 gene is expressed in the vagal neural crest and in the enteric ganglia of the developing gut during embryogenesis. We have identified a cis-acting enhancer element b3IIIa in the Hoxb3 gene locus. In this study, by transgenic mice analysis, we examined the tissue specificity of the b3IIIa enhancer element using the lacZ reporter gene, with emphasis on the vagal neural crest cells and their derivatives in the developing gut. We found that the b3IIIa-lacZ transgene marks only the vagal region and not the trunk or sacral region. Using cellular markers, we showed that the b3IIIa-lacZ transgene was expressed in a subset of enteric neuroblasts during early development of the gut, and the expression was maintained in differentiated neurons of the myenteric plexus at later stages. The specificity of the b3IIIa enhancer in directing gene expression in the developing ENS was further supported by genetic analysis using the Dom mutant, a spontaneous mouse model of Hirschsprung's disease characterized by the absence of enteric ganglia in the distal gut. The colonization of lacZ-expressing cells in the large intestine was incomplete in all the Dom/b3IIIa-lacZ hybrid mutants we examined. To our knowledge, this is the only vagal neural crest-specific genetic regulatory element identified to date. This element could be used for a variety of genetic manipulations and in establishing transgenic mouse models for studying the development of the ENS., (Copyright 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc)

Megacolon occurs in neonatal and adult transgenic mice that overexpress the Hoxa-4 gene. Abnormalities, which are restricted to the terminal colon of these mice, include a hypoganglionosis, abnormal enteric ganglia with a structure appropriate for extra-enteric peripheral nerve and not the enteric nervous system (ENS), and gaps in the longitudinal muscle occupied by ganglia. To investigate the developmental origin of these abnormalities, we analyzed the development of the pelvis and terminal colon in Hoxa-4 transgenic mice. Morphological abnormalities were detected as early as E13. These included an enlargement of the mucosa and the bowel wall, a thickening of the enteric mesenchyme, and the ectopic location of pelvic ganglion cells, which initially clustered on the dorsolateral wall of the hindgut. As the bowel enlarged, these ectopic cells become ventrolateral and, between days E17 and E18.5, appeared to become incorporated into the gut, leaving neuron-filled gaps in the longitudinal muscle layer. The ectopic ganglia retained extra-enteric characteristics, including the presence of capillaries, basal laminae, collagen fibers, and catecholaminergic neurons, even after their incorporation into the bowel. It is proposed that the abnormal and ectopic expression of the Hoxa-4 transgene in the colon causes signalling molecule(s) of the enteric mesenchyme to be overproduced and that the overabundance of these signals leads to mucosal enlargement and misdirection of migrating pelvic neuronal progenitors.

The myenteric plexus of the colon was studied ultrastructurally in a colony of an Ls Ls strain of mice manifesting a piebald coat color mutation associated with a high incidence of genetically determined aganglionic megacolon. Ultrastructural studies were histochemically supplemented by the Maillet technic and stains for acetylcholinesterase and catecholamines. The development of megacolon did not appear to require total aganglionosis, since ostensibly aganglionic areas contained rare ganglion cells. In the distal narrowed segment, both cholinergic and adrenergic fibers in the muscularis, submucosa and mucosa were somewhat reduced. In the mouse, the dilated portion showed an abrupt increase in adrenergic fibers. These findings are related to the pathophysiology of the disorder. The increasing degenerative changes seen in myenteric plexus structures from the fetus to adult suggest that aganglionic megacolon may be an abiotrophy, wherein the congenitally deficient myenteric plexus may be unusually predisposed to postnatal injury and degeneration.