Research
Hormonal
Serotonin (5-HT) released from enterochromaffin (EC) cells modulates visceral sensitivity and pain signaling via direct synaptic interaction with nociceptive neurons.
If you have IBS or chronic gut pain, your gut cells (EC cells) might be sending too many pain signals to your brain using serotonin. Blocking these signals (with specific antagonists) can reduce pain and anxiety, showing that gut pain is a neurological issue, not just inflammation.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
ECs are EECs characterized by their serotonin (5-HT) expression... EC-containing organoids co-cultured with HEK cells transfected with 5HT3R were reactive to microbial metabolites and the noxious chemical allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) by releasing 5-HT and inducing calcium ion transients in HEK cells.
Why this rating
Supported by organoid studies and animal models.
Source
Enteroendocrine cell regulation of the gut-brain axis
Joshua R. Barton et al. · Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2023
DOI 10.3389/fnins.2023.1272955
narrative_reviewCited 65×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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