5-Hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) in the gastrointestinal tract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Although the gut contains most of the body's 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), many of its most important functions have recently been discovered. This review summarizes and directs attention to this new burst of knowledge. RECENT FINDINGS: Enteroendocrine cells have classically been regarded as pressure sensors, which secrete 5-HT to initiate peristaltic reflexes; nevertheless, recent data obtained from studies of mice that selectively lack 5-HT either in enterochromaffin cells (deletion of tryptophan hydroxylase 1 knockout; TPH1KO) or neurons (TPH2KO) imply that neuronal 5-HT is more important for constitutive gastrointestinal transit than that of enteroendocrine cells. The enteric nervous…

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  National Institutes of Health