When we eat food, our gut somehow senses its presence to begin shifting it along our digestive tract, but the question has always been — how? Now, new research using both human gut samples and mice has discovered that a touch-sensing protein called Piezo2 is not just in our fingers, but also in our gut, with its presence likely playing a key role in constipation.

Now, new Flinders University research using both human gut samples and mice has discovered that a touch-sensing protein that was a focus of a 2021 Nobel Prize, called Piezo2, is not just in our fingers, but also in our gut, with its presence likely playing a key role in constipation. This work has recently been published in the leading international journal Gastroenterology.

«Many people suffer from digestive issues on a daily basis, such as chronic constipation, however we still don’t understand the cause which underlies most of them,» says Lauren Jones, lead author and final year PhD student in the College of Medicine and Public Health.

«Our research identified Piezo2 in cells that line the human digestive tract, allowing them to sense physical stimuli, such as touch or pressure, that would occur when food is present. The cells then respond by releasing serotonin to stimulate gut contractions and push the food along.»

Last year, international researchers Ardem Patapoutian and David Julius were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on receptors responsible for the perception of touch and temperature, including the discovery of Piezo2, now known to be responsible for sensing light touch on our skin.

Of potential clinical importance, the Flinders research team also discovered that the levels of Piezo2 decrease in the gut with age, and found that if the protein was removed only from gut serotonin cells, gut motility slowed down in mice, causing constipation.

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