Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

GUT MICROBIOTA

Building community in the gut: a role for mucosal serotonin

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 17, pages 6–8 (2020)Cite this article

Subjects

A new study reveals that a novel serotonin sensor in the spore-forming gut bacteria, Turicibacter sanguinis, might be important for host lipid and steroid metabolism. These findings support the emerging concept that bidirectional signalling pathways can influence bacterial community structure and exert effects on host physiology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Turicibacter alters host physiology via a novel serotonin sensor.

References

  1. Wexler, A. G. & Goodman, A. L. An insider’s perspective: Bacteroides as a window into the microbiome. Nat. Microbiol. 2, 17026 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Fung, T. C. et al. Intestinal serotonin and fluoxetine exposure modulate bacterial colonization in the gut. Nat. Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0540-4 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Reigstad, C. S. et al. Gut microbes promote colonic serotonin production through an effect of short-chain fatty acids on enterochromaffin cells. FASEB J. 29, 1395–1403 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Yano, J. M. et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell 161, 264–276 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jackson, M. A. et al. Gut microbiota associations with common diseases and prescription medications in a population-based cohort. Nat. Commun. 9, 2655 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Jung, M. J. et al. Chronic repression of mTOR complex 2 induces changes in the gut microbiota of diet-induced obese mice. Sci. Rep. 6, 30887 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhuang, X. et al. Fecal microbiota alterations associated with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. Front. Microbiol. 9, 1600 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Goodrich, J. K. et al. Cross-species comparisons of host genetic associations with the microbiome. Science 352, 532–535 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Kemis, J. H. et al. Genetic determinants of gut microbiota composition and bile acid profiles in mice. PLOS Genet. 15, e1008073 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Margolis, K. G. & Gershon, M. D. Enteric Neuronal Regulation of Intestinal Inflammation. Trends Neurosci. 39, 614–624 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Division of Digestive Diseases, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jill M. Hoffman

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Kara G. Margolis

Authors
  1. Jill M. Hoffman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kara G. Margolis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kara G. Margolis.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hoffman, J.M., Margolis, K.G. Building community in the gut: a role for mucosal serotonin. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 17, 6–8 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0227-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0227-6

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing