**6. Concluding remarks**

This chapter highlights the role of MMs in health and disease. In summary, MMs are part of tissue-resident macrophages in the gut, having a dual origin from monocytes and embryonic macrophages, that colonize tissues and persist after birth [22]. MMs are localized in close anatomical relationship to the ICC, which form part of the enteric ENS [30]. The interaction between MMs and ENs is important in regulating gut peristalsis in health and disease [8]. An inflammatory component also mediates the interaction mentioned above, as proven by experimental evidence, which shows that loss of MMs can induce a neuroinflammatory response in the gut [35]. Extrinsic innervation by the vagus nerve plays an important role in regulating acetylcholine signaling [44] and counterbalancing sympathetic neuro-inflammatory interaction [42]. Finally, recent experimental evidence has illustrated the paramount importance of MMs as intermediate factors in motility disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastroparesis [13], post-operative ileus [72] and intestinal ischemia–reperfusion injury [13], leading to interesting etiopathogenic and treatment-implicative considerations.
