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5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells characterised by morphologies, patterns of hormone co-expression, and relationships with nerve fibres in the mouse gastrointestinal tract

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Abstract

5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells (EEC), the most abundant type of EEC in the gut, regulate many functions including motility, secretion and inflammatory responses. We examined the morphologies of 5-HT cells from stomach to rectum, patterns of hormone co-expression in the stomach and colon, and the relationship of 5-HT cells with nerve fibres. We also reviewed some of the relevant literature. The morphologies of 5-HT cells were distinct, depending on their location in the gut. A noticeable feature of some 5-HT cells in the antrum and colon was their long basal processes, which resembled processes of neurons, whereas 5-HT cells in the small intestinal mucosa lacked basal processes. In the stomach, numerous 5-HT cells, including cells with basal processes, were identified as enterochromaffin-like cells by their expression of histidine decarboxylase. In the colon, we observed a small number of 5-HT cells that were in close contact with, but distinct from, oxyntomodulin (OXM) and PYY immunoreactive EEC. We did not find specific relationships between nerve fibres and the processes of colonic 5-HT cells. We conclude that five major features, i.e., gut region, morphology, hormone content, receptor repertoire and cell lineage, can be used to define 5-HT cells.

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Funding

This work was funded by the host laboratory. Ada Koo was in receipt of a Melbourne Research Scholarship awarded by the University of Melbourne.

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AK, LJF and HK conducted experimental investigations; JBF initiated the study; AK wrote the first draft of the manuscript; all authors contributed to and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to John B. Furness.

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Authors declare no conflict of interests.

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The research was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia guidelines and were approved by the University of Melbourne Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (Approval 1814569).

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Koo, A., Fothergill, L.J., Kuramoto, H. et al. 5-HT containing enteroendocrine cells characterised by morphologies, patterns of hormone co-expression, and relationships with nerve fibres in the mouse gastrointestinal tract. Histochem Cell Biol 155, 623–636 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-01972-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-021-01972-3

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