Subcellular localization of serotonin and motilin in the human jejunum

1. Analytical subcellular fractionation techniques have been applied to human jejunal homogenates to study the localization of serotonin and motilin. 2. Serotonin, detected by a fluorimetric assay, showed two distinct particulate distributions in the density gradients with modal densities of 1.14 and 1.20. Motilin, whether detected by N-terminal or C-terminal specific antibodies showed similar density distributions with a modal density of 1.20, coinciding with the denser peak of serotonin. 3. These results lend support to the histochemical suggestions that motilin is located in a a serotonin-containing granule.