Efferent nerves from the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) connect to the gastrointestinal system and are thought to regulate digestion. The mechanisms by which the DMV controls nutrient absorption are under active investigation. A study published in Nature shows that a subpopulation of DMV neurons controls intestinal dietary fat absorption by modulating microvillus length in the jejunum.

The researchers then searched for a pharmacological means of inhibiting DMV activity by performing electrophysiology on mouse brainstem slices exposed to different molecules of interest. This approach revealed that the isoflavanoid puerarin suppressed DMV activity. “Moreover, photo-affinity labelling was used to identify proteins that bind to puerarin,” say authors Qianqian Lyu, Wenzhi Xue, Chunlei Zhang and Jiqiu Wang. The results suggested that puerarin might target GABRA1, a subunit of the inhibitory receptor GABA_A.

来自迷走神经背侧运动核 （DMV） 的传出神经连接到胃肠道系统，被认为可以调节消化。DMV 控制营养吸收的机制正在积极研究中。发表在《自然》杂志上的一项研究表明，DMV 神经元的一个亚群通过调节空肠中的微绒毛长度来控制肠道膳食脂肪的吸收。

然后，研究人员通过对暴露于不同目标分子的小鼠脑干切片进行电生理学研究，寻找一种抑制 DMV 活性的药理学方法。这种方法表明异黄酮类葛根素抑制了 DMV 活性。“此外，光亲和标记被用来鉴定与葛根素结合的蛋白质，”作者 Qianqian Lyu、Wenzhi Xue、Chunlei Zhang 和 Jiqiu Wang 说。结果表明，葛根素可能靶向抑制受体 GABA_A 的一个亚基 GABRA1。