Peripheral serotonergic neurons regulate gut motility and anxiety-like behavior

Curr Biol. 2024 Feb 26;34(4):R133-R134. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.072.ABSTRACTSerotonergic circuits in the central nervous system play important roles in regulating mood and behavior, yet the functions of peripheral serotonergic neurons are less understood. Here, we engineered mice lacking the serotonin-producing enzyme Tph2 in peripheral neurons but with intact Tph2 in central neurons. In contrast to mice lacking Tph2 in all neurons, mice lacking Tph2 in peripheral serotonergic neurons did not exhibit increased territorial aggression. However, similar to the total body Tph2 knockout (KO) mice, the conditional KO animals exhibited reduced gut motility and decreased anxiety-like behavior. These observations reveal that peripheral serotonergic neurons contribute to control of intestinal motility and anxiety-like behavior and suggest that therapeutics targeting this subset of peripheral neurons could be beneficial.PMID:38412819 | DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.072

Source: Current Biology - February 27, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hailong Zhang Deborah R Leitner Yuko Hasegawa Matthew K Waldor Source Type: research