NIH R01 · 2025
Control of motility in the lower esophageal sphincter
Program Director/Principal Investigator (Last, First, Middle): Cobine, Caroline, A Project Summary The lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is a thickened region of muscle between the distal esophagus and proximal stomach. The LES develops contractile tone that forms a protective barrier and restricts acidic contents of the stomach from being refluxed into and damaging the esophagus. LES tone is thought to be ‘myogenic’, but LES muscles are not just composed of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and neurons. Rather, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are electrically coupled to SMCs and regulate the excitability of SMCs. For example, we found that responses to nitrergic input, an important regulator of…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.