New studies reveal the function of Piezo channels that detect pressure in the digestive system and influence swallowing actions. This research paves the way for potential treatments for digestive and eating disorders.
DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) has announced that a research team led by Professor Kim Kyuhyung from the Department of Brain Sciences has uncovered a new principle essential for the regulation of food movement through the digestive system and during swallowing. They discovered that the Piezo channel proteins respond to the pressure created when food collects in the front part of the digestive tract, initiating swallowing actions. This finding is anticipated to provide significant insights into creating treatments for digestive-related and eating disorders.
When we consume food, the digestive tract produces various signals that are connected to key physiological functions. Despite this, our understanding of how the movement and buildup of food within the digestive system are recognized and processed to manage vital behaviors like swallowing is still quite limited.
Piezo channels are proteins that detect physical pressure or stimuli inside the body. Found in cell membranes, these channels open in response to applied pressure or force, allowing substances such as calcium ions (Ca2+) to enter cells. Once inside, these ions relay signals that prompt the body’s response. For instance, Piezo channels play a role in sensing touch on the skin, monitoring blood pressure, and detecting lung and bladder expansion. In this particular study, the researchers observed that in a Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which shares a digestive tract structure with humans, the Piezo channels identify food accumulation and trigger swallowing behavior.
The research group concentrated on the pharyngeal-intestinal valve in the digestive system of C. elegans. This valve serves as a connection between the pharynx and the intestine, directing food flow and resembling the human esophagus. The team found that the Piezo channels become active in this valve. As a C. elegans eats, food fills the front of the intestine. The Piezo channels detect the pressure from the intestine’s expansion and facilitate the movement of food through the intestine via a process known as a pharyngeal plunge.
For the first time globally, Professor Kim’s team has pinpointed the specific molecular mechanism by which intestinal stretching from food buildup influences food intake behavior, particularly swallowing, in an organism.
“This research illuminates a fundamental question regarding how the body’s internal sensations influence the physiological processes linked to food intake,” remarked Professor Kim, the lead author of the study. He also stated, “We anticipate that this study will yield valuable insights into the digestive system’s role in the food intake process and how these physiological functions are interconnected.”
Ph.D. student Park Yeon-ji and Dr. Yeon Jihye from the Department of Brain Sciences share the title of co-first authors with Professor Kim Kyuhyung as the corresponding author. This study was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Kang Kyungjin’s team from the Korea Brain Research Institute and Dr. Lee Kyungeun’s team from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and it was published on November 21, 2024, in Nature Communications, a leading journal in the biology field.
