Consumption of indigestible saccharides and administration of Bifidobacterium pseudolongum reduce mucosal serotonin in murine colonic mucosa

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) increase serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) synthesis and content in the colon in vitro and ex vivo, but little is known in vivo. We tested whether dietary indigestible saccharides, utilized as a substrate to produce SCFAs by gut microbiota, would increase colonic 5-HT content in mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed a purified diet and water supplemented with 4% (w/v) 1-kestose (KES) for 2 weeks. Colonic 5-HT content and enterochromaffin (EC) cell numbers were lower in mice supplemented with KES than those without supplementation, while monoamine oxidase A activity and mRNA levels of Tph1, Chga, Slc6a4 and Maoa genes in the colonic mucosa, serum 5-HT concentration and total 5-HT content in the colonic contents did not differ between groups. Cecal acetate concentration and Bifidobacterium pseudolongum population were higher in KES-supplemented mice. Similar trends were observed in mice supplemented with other indigestible saccharides, i.e., fructooligosaccharides, inulin and raffinose. Intragastric administration of live B. pseudolongum (108 colony-forming units/day) for 2 weeks reduced colonic 5-HT content and EC cell numbers. These results suggest that changes in synthesis, reuptake, catabolism and overflow of 5-HT in the colonic mucosa are not involved in the reduction of colonic 5-HT content by dietary indigestible saccharides in mice. We propose that gut microbes including B. pseudolongum could contribute to the reduction of 5-HT content in the colonic mucosa via diminishing EC cells.