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. 2022 Jul 22;9:961703. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.961703

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Copyright © 2022 Zheng, Tang, Hu and Zhang.

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

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Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by gut microbiota regulate gastrointestinal (GI) motility. SCFAs, including acetate, propionate, and butyrate, are produced from gut microbial fermentation of dietary polysaccharides. L cells sense SCFAs and produce glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and peptide YY (PYY), both of which inhibit GI motility. Enterochromaffin (EC) cells sense SCFAs and produce 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), which promotes GI motility by activating the 5-HT4 receptor expressed on enteric neurons. SCFAs can also stimulate enteric neurons through monocarboxylate transporter 2 (MCT2), playing a positive role in GI motility.