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Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Assessment of Dendritic Arborization in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampal Region in Mice
Published on: March 31, 2015
Enhanced dendritic morphogenesis of adult hippocampal newborn neurons in central 5-HT-deficient mice
Ning-Ning Song1, Qiong Zhang1, Ying Huang1
1Key Laboratory of Arrhythmias, Ministry of Education of China, East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200120, China; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China.
Abstract:
Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role in regulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Chronic administration of selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which up-regulates extracellular 5-HT concentration, accelerates the maturation of adult-born hippocampal neurons. It is unknown, however, about effects of central 5-HT-deficiency on the dendritic morphogenesis of these newborn neurons. Here, we address this question using two central 5-HT-deficient mouse models, Tph2 conditional knockout mice (CKO) losing central 5-HT from embryonic stage, and Pet1-Cre;Rosa26-DTR (diphtheria toxin receptor) mice lacking central 5-HT neurons exclusively in adulthood. The dendritic length of hippocampal newborn neurons is dramatically increased in these mice. Our findings indicate that reducing central 5-HT can accelerate the dendritic maturation of adult-born neurons, thus revealing a new role of central 5-HT in regulating adult hippocampal neurogenesis.
