Fig. 1
From: Serotonin signals through a gut-liver axis to regulate hepatic steatosis
Gut-derived 5-HT regulates HFD-induced hepatic steatosis. a mRNA expression of genes involved in 5-HT metabolism as assessed by RT-PCR in liver from 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice. b Plasma 5-HT concentrations of portal blood and peripheral blood in humans. Portal blood concentration set as 100%; n = 9 per group. c–e The 12-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed standard chow diet (SCD) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. c Tph1 mRNA expression in the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon as assessed by qRT-PCR; n = 4 per group. d Duodenal 5-HT levels; n = 3 per group. e Plasma 5-HT levels in portal blood; n = 3 per group. f–h The 12-week-old WT and Tph1 GKO mice were fed SCD or HFD for 8 weeks. f Representative liver histology by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining from HFD-fed WT and Tph1 GKO mice. Scale bars, 100 μm. g Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) of HFD-fed WT and Tph1 GKO mice; n = 7–10 per group. h Hepatic triglyceride levels; n = 6–10 per group. Data are expressed as the means ± SEM. *P < 0.5, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, Student’s t-test (b–e, g) or one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey’s test (h)
