The working group Enteric Nervous System (AGENS) is dealing with the innervation of the gastrointestinal,tract (enteric nervous system: ENS) in respect to various aspects such as development, plasticity or detrimental and protective influences, but also in relation to different compartments and cells systeme within the gut wall.
The group is focusing upon the influence of various factors on the development and regeneration of the ENS, respectively on neural stem cells derived from the ENS. The group is using an interdisciplinary approach with a broad spectrum of methods: primary 2 and 3-dimensional tissue culture approaches on the base of  enteric neurons and glial cells, neural stem cells from both brain and gut, dorsal root ganglia and  brain slices. co-culture approaches (smooth muscle, enterocytes, immune cells), life cell and calcium imaging, Multiplex-ELISA, Proteomics, immunhistochemistry, multielectrode-array-technology, patch-clamp and motility measurments in organ-bath whole-gut-segment approaches.