Early life stress has been associated with the occurrence of gastrointestinal diseases later in life, but underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, Wong et al. show that early life stress leads to expansion of intestinal stem cells and their differentiation into serotonin-producing enterochromaffin cells through crosstalk between NGF and Wnt signalling pathways.
- Hoi Leong Xavier Wong
- Hong-yan Qin
- Zhao-xiang Bian