Abstract
Serotonergic circuits in the central nervous system play important roles in regulating mood and behavior, yet the functions of peripheral serotonergic neurons are less understood. Here, we engineered mice lacking the serotonin-producing enzyme Tph2 in peripheral neurons but with intact Tph2 in central neurons. In contrast to mice lacking Tph2 in all neurons, mice lacking Tph2 in peripheral serotonergic neurons did not exhibit increased territorial aggression. However, similar to the total body Tph2 KO mice, the conditional KO animals, exhibited reduced gut motility and decreased anxiety-like behavior. These observations reveal that peripheral serotonergic neurons contribute to control of intestinal motility and anxiety-like behavior and suggest that therapeutics targeting this subset of peripheral neurons could be beneficial.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
The original manuscript encompassed two primary narratives, one focusing on peripheral serotonergic neurons (PSN) in immune regulation and the other exploring the role of PSN in social behaviors. Following the initial submission, we made the decision to bifurcate the content into two separate papers. At present, I am revising the section related to the role of PSN in social behaviors.