ArticleNature2011
A transient placental source of serotonin for the fetal forebrain.
Article in Nature, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 314 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
314 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 583 citations in OpenAlex.
- Linking Inflammation, Aberrant Glutamate-Dopamine Interaction, and Post-synaptic Changes: Translational Relevance for Schizophrenia and Antipsychotic Treatment: a Systematic Review.Molecular neurobiology · 2022Pooled it
- A systematic review of maternal antidepressant use in pregnancy and short- and long-term offspring's outcomes.Archives of women's mental health · 2018Pooled it
- Altered sperm DNA methylation provides an epigenetic route from overweight and older men to intergenerational disease transmission.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Review
- Epigenetics and childhood obesity: DNA methylation coordinates environment and gene regulation.Endocrine reviews · 2026Review
- Diminished Maternal Tryptophan Leads to Sexually Dimorphic Differences in the Placenta-Brain Axis.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Tryptophan metabolism: A hidden regulator of female reproductive health beyond fertility.Chinese medical journal · 2026Review
- TPH1-dependent maternal hyposerotonemia: long-term effects on adult wild-type mouse offspring.Communications biology · 2026Article
- A comprehensive overview of the biological foundations of ADHD.Bioscience reports · 2026Review
- The Gut Microbiome in Early Ontogeny: Implications for Brain and Immune System Development.Journal of developmental biology · 2026Review
- Review
- Susceptibility of the Placenta and Fetal Brain to Maternal Probiotic Supplementation.Microorganisms · 2026Article
- The Role of Serotonin in Brain Development: From Molecular Pathways to Neurodevelopmental Risk.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- The placental tryptophan pathway across gestation: implications for pregnancy outcomes.Human reproduction update · 2026Review
- Dynamics of the Mammalian Placental Metabolome in Placentogenesis and Embryonic Development.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Human neuromodulatory assembloids to study serotonin signaling and disease.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Exploratory assessment of preconception phthalate exposure on pregnancy and offspring health outcomes in mice.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
- Modeling cerebral palsy in animals.Developmental medicine and child neurology · 2026Review
- Special Issue "Serotonin in Health and Diseases".International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Partners in plasticity: serotonergic glial interactions in brain circuit remodeling.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
254 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) is thought to regulate neurodevelopmental processes through maternal-fetal interactions that have long-term mental health implications. It is thought that beyond fetal 5-HT neurons there are significant maternal contributions to fetal 5-HT during pregnancy but this has not been tested empirically. To examine putative central and peripheral sources of embryonic brain 5-HT, we used Pet1(-/-) (also called Fev) mice in which most dorsal raphe neurons lack 5-HT. We detected previously unknown differences in accumulation of 5-HT between the forebrain and hindbrain during early and late fetal stages, through an exogenous source of 5-HT which is not of maternal origin. Using additional genetic strategies, a new technology for studying placental biology ex vivo and direct manipulation of placental neosynthesis, we investigated the nature of this exogenous source. We uncovered a placental 5-HT synthetic pathway from a maternal tryptophan precursor in both mice and humans. This study reveals a new, direct role for placental metabolic pathways in modulating fetal brain development and indicates that maternal-placental-fetal interactions could underlie the pronounced impact of 5-HT on long-lasting mental health outcomes.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.