Intestinal Epithelial Serotonin as a Novel Target for Treating Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction and Mood

Mood disorders and disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI) are highly prevalent, commonly comorbid, and lack fully effective therapies. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line pharmacological treatments for these disorders, they may impart adverse effects, including anxiety, anhedonia, dysmotility, and, in children exposed in utero, an increased risk of cognitive, mood, and gastrointestinal disorders. SSRIs act systemically to block the serotonin reuptake transporter and enhance serotonergic signaling in the brain, intestinal epithelium, and enteric neurons. Yet, the compartments that mediate the therapeutic and adverse effects of SSRIs are unknown, as is whether gestational SSRI exposure directly contributes to human DGBI development.

We used transgenic, surgical, and pharmacological approaches to study the effects of intestinal epithelial serotonin reuptake transporter or serotonin on mood and gastrointestinal function, as well as relevant communication pathways. We also conducted a prospective birth cohort study to assess effects of gestational SSRI exposure on DGBI development.

Serotonin reuptake transporter ablation targeted to the intestinal epithelium promoted anxiolytic and antidepressive-like effects without causing adverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract or brain; conversely, epithelial serotonin synthesis inhibition increased anxiety and depression-like behaviors. Afferent vagal pathways were found to be conduits by which intestinal epithelial serotonin affects behavior. In utero SSRI exposure is a significant and specific risk factor for development of the DGBI, functional constipation, in the first year of life, irrespective of maternal depressive symptoms.

These findings provide fundamental insights into how the gastrointestinal tract modulates emotional behaviors, reveal a novel gut-targeted therapeutic approach for mood modulation, and suggest a new link in humans between in utero SSRI exposure and DGBI development.