Serotonin signaling in the central nervous system is required for correct spine morphogenesis in zebrafish.

Serotonin depletion in tph2 mutant Danio rerio causes progressive 3D spinal misalignment that mimics adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, emerging after 21 days post-fertilization.

• Why it matters: AIS affects over 1% of children and teenagers worldwide, but its causes are unclear; serotonergic defects in familial cases suggest a missing mechanistic link.
• What they did: The study used tph2 mutant zebrafish to track serotonin loss and spine curvature over development, showing RF integrity while spinal 5HT disappears by 21 dpf.
• The result: Intraspinal serotonergic neurons and inferior raphe projections are gradually depleted, eliminating spinal 5HT by 21 dpf and indicating spinal 5HT signaling is essential for correct post-embryonic alignment.

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