Serotonin of mast cell origin contributes to hippocampal function

• Published in: The European journal of neuroscience 2012-08, Vol.36 (3), p.2347-2359
• Main Authors: Nautiyal, Katherine M., Dailey, Christopher A., Jahn, Jaquelyn L., Rodriquez, Elizabeth, Son, Nguyen Hong, Sweedler, Jonathan V., Silver, Rae
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bone marrow; Brain; capillary electrophoresis; Cell activation; Cell migration; Cell Proliferation; Central nervous system; Dentate gyrus; Development; Fluorescence; Fluoxetine; Fluoxetine - pharmacology; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - growth & development; Hippocampus - physiology; Learning; Mast cells; Mast Cells - metabolism; Memory; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Neurogenesis; Neurons - cytology; Neurotransmitters; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit - antagonists & inhibitors; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit - metabolism; psychoneuroimmunology; serotonin; Serotonin - metabolism; Serotonin uptake inhibitors; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors - pharmacology; Spatial discrimination learning; spatial learning; spatial memory; subventricular zone
• ISSN: 0953-816X; 1460-9568
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08138.x

In the central nervous system, serotonin, an important neurotransmitter and trophic factor, is synthesized by both mast cells and neurons. Mast cells, like other immune cells, are born in the bone marrow and migrate to many tissues. We show that they are resident in the mouse brain throughout development and adulthood. Measurements based on capillary electrophoresis with native fluorescence detection indicate that a significant contribution of serotonin to the hippocampal milieu is associated with mast cell activation. Compared with their littermates, mast cell‐deficient C57BL/6 KitW‐sh/W‐sh mice have profound deficits in hippocampus‐dependent spatial learning and memory and in hippocampal neurogenesis. These deficits are associated with a reduction in cell proliferation and in immature neurons in the dentate gyrus, but not in the subventricular zone – a neurogenic niche lacking mast cells. Chronic treatment with fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, reverses the deficit in hippocampal neurogenesis in mast cell‐deficient mice. In summary, the present study demonstrates that mast cells are a source of serotonin, that mast cell‐deficient C57BL/6 KitW‐sh/W‐sh mice have disrupted hippocampus‐dependent behavior and neurogenesis, and that elevating serotonin in these mice, by treatment with fluoxetine, reverses these deficits. We conclude that mast cells contribute to behavioral and physiological functions of the hippocampus and note that they play a physiological role in neuroimmune interactions, even in the absence of inflammatory responses. Mast cells are immune cells that are resident in the mouse brain within and near the hippocampus throughout development and adulthood. Their activation contributes serotonin to the hippocampus. A lack of mast cells is associated with deficits in spatial learning and memory and decreased hippocampal neurogenesis which can be restored through administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine.