Linking serotonin homeostasis to gut function: Nutrition, gut microbiota and beyond

Abstract

Serotonin (5-HT) produced by enterochromaffin (EC) cells in the digestive tract is crucial for maintaining gut function and homeostasis. Nutritional and non-nutritional stimuli in the gut lumen can modulate the ability of EC cells to produce 5-HT in a temporal- and spatial-specific manner that toning gut physiology and immune response. Of particular interest, the interactions between dietary factors and the gut microbiota exert distinct impacts on gut 5-HT homeostasis and signaling in metabolism and the gut immune response. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be unraveled. This review aims to summarize and discuss the importance of gut 5-HT homeostasis and its regulation in maintaining gut metabolism and immune function in health and disease with special emphasis on different types of nutrients, dietary supplements, processing, and gut microbiota. Cutting-edge discoveries in this area will provide the basis for the development of new nutritional and pharmaceutical strategies for the prevention and treatment of serotonin homeostasis-related gut and systematic disorders and diseases.

Keywords:

• Enterochromaffin cells
• 5-HT receptors
• enteral nutrition
• gut microbiota
• inflammation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Drs. GW and ZW for their suggestions on the work in the laboratory, Drs. JW, XM and YH for their helpful discussions during manuscript preparation, and reviewers for their constructive comments.

Author contributions

LJ and ZD composed the draft; LJ, DH, YH, ZS, ZS and ZD reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Works in the laboratory are supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072689, 31301979), the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFA1304204, 2022YFD1300402, 2017YFD0500501), and the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB127303).