Emerging Roles for Serotonin in Regulating Metabolism

Dear Colleagues,

Physical and psychological stress in humans is most frequently monitoring by means of the adrenocortical response and blood parameters. Serotonin (5-Hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a biogenic amine that functions as a neurotransmitter and as a stress response mediator. The serotoninergic system is anatomically and functionally largely conserved across vertebrate species where the neurotransmitter serotonin is known to modulate different biological functions, either centrally or peripherally: it can regulate a wide range of immunomodulatory effects, and there is evidence that high 5-HT concentrations appear to stabilize HPA axis activity. In addition, monoamines and their associated enzymes as well as receptors are also present in peripheral tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract, where they are thought to be involved in the regulation of nutrient absorption, blood flow, and gut motility. There are two sites for the production of 5-HT in the gut by specific epithelial cells called enterochromaffin (EC) cells and enteric serotoninergic neurons. Tryptophan is the essential amino acid precursor of 5-HT, in a two-step process, strongly conserved in the animal kingdom, by the action of the enzymes tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) and 5-hydroxy tryptophan decarboxylase. TPH expression is limited to a few specific cells. Two TPH enzymes exist, including peripheral (TPH-1), which are found in EC cells, and central (TPH-2) isoforms, uniquely found in both the brain and intestine. The serotoninergic system in mammals is modulated by a variety of environmental factors, and it is a target for several environmental stressors that may interfere with the physiological and pathological modulation of 5-HT by seasonal influences, including photoperiods, diurnal variations, temperature, diet, influences of sex steroid hormones, and so on.

Dr. Giuseppe Bruschetta
Prof. Dr. Patrizia Licata
Guest Editors

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