Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41795913›Full record

ReviewImmunology and cell biology2026

The role of peripheral serotonin in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity, COVID-19 treatment and long COVID.

Daniel W Thorpe, Lauren A Jones, Alyce M Martin, Rosemary A Coleman, Caitlin Allman, Rochelle A Peterson, Damien J Keating

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Immunology and cell biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Daniel W ThorpeGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5644-6170
Lauren A JonesGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4841-8847
Alyce M MartinGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1631-8307
Rosemary A ColemanGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.
Caitlin AllmanGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.
Rochelle A PetersonGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.
Damien J KeatingGut Sensory Systems Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0154-8305

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gastrointestinal symptoms have emerged as a common, but underappreciated, cause of morbidity in relation to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the COVID-19 pandemic. This manifests as a range of indications including diarrhea, anorexia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In addition, the gastrointestinal tract may represent a route of viral entry via the epithelial cell layer lining the gut wall. This route of entry could be a significant component of disease pathogenesis, including effects on the nervous system via the gut-brain axis. In this review, we provide an assessment of the effects of COVID-19 on the gastrointestinal system, its involvement in disease severity and potential pathways for viral entry and infection in the gastrointestinal tract. We also examine evidence that gut-derived serotonin is affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection, how this may link to symptoms and disease pathogenesis and the potential link to the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in reducing COVID-19 severity.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 Drug TreatmentGastrointestinal TractSARS-CoV-2SerotoninAnimalsHumansPost-Acute COVID-19 SyndromeSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsVirus InternalizationSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsSerotoninCOVID‐19gastrointestinalSARS‐CoV‐2serotoninSSRI

Identifiers

PMID41795913
PMCPMC13071133

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.