The Microbiota‐Inflammasome Hypothesis of Major Depression

We propose the “microbiota‐inflammasome” hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD, a mental illness affecting the way a person feels and thinks, characterized by long‐lasting feelings of sadness). We hypothesize that pathological shifts in gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) caused by stress and gut conditions result in the upregulation of pro‐inflammatory pathways mediated by the Nod‐like receptors family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome (an intracellular platform involved in the activation of inflammatory processes). This upregulation exacerbates depressive symptomatology and further compounds gut dysbiosis. In this review we describe MDD/chronic stress‐induced changes in: 1) NLRP3 inflammasome; 2) gut microbiota; and 3) metabolic pathways; and how inflammasome signaling may affect depressive‐like behavior and gut microbiota composition. The implication is that novel therapeutic strategies could emerge for MDD and co‐morbid conditions. A number of testable predictions surface from this microbiota‐gut‐inflammasome‐brain hypothesis of MDD, using approaches that modulate gut microbiota composition via inflammasome modulation, fecal microbiota transplantation, psychobiotics supplementation, or dietary change.     

The Gut Microbiota–Brain Axis Expands Neurologic Function: A Nervous Rapport

Does exploration of the gut microbiota–brain axis expand our understanding of what it means to be human? Recognition and conceptualization of a gut microbiota–brain axis challenges our study of the nervous system. Here, integrating gut microbiota–brain research into the metaorganism model is proposed. The metaorganism—an expanded, dynamic unit comprising the host and commensal organisms—asserts a radical blurring between man and microbe. The metaorganism nervous system interacts with the exterior world through microbial‐colored lenses. Ongoing studies have reported that gut microbes contribute to brain function and pathologies, even shaping higher neurological functions. How will continued collaborative efforts (e.g., between neurobiology and microbiology), including partnerships with the arts (e.g., philosophy), contribute to the knowledge of microbe‐to‐mind interactions? While this is not a systemic review, this nascent field is briefly described, highlighting ongoing challenges and recommendations for emerging gut microbiota–brain research. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/lP9gOW8StXg .     

The microbiome: stress,health and disease

Bacterial colonisation of the gut plays a major role in postnatal development and maturation of key systems that have the capacity to influence central nervous system (CNS) programming and signaling, including the immune and endocrine systems. Individually, these systems have been implicated in the neuropathology of many CNS disorders and collectively they form an important bidirectional pathway of communication between the microbiota and the brain in health and disease. Regulation of the microbiome–brain–gut axis is essential for maintaining homeostasis, including that of the CNS. Moreover, there is now expanding evidence for the view that commensal organisms within the gut play a role in early programming and later responsivity of the stress system. Research has focused on how the microbiota communicates with the CNS and thereby influences brain function. The routes of this communication are not fully elucidated but include neural, humoral, immune and metabolic pathways. This view is underpinned by studies in germ-free animals and in animals exposed to pathogenic bacterial infections, probiotic agents or antibiotics which indicate a role for the gut microbiota in the regulation of mood, cognition, pain and obesity. Thus, the concept of a microbiome–brain–gut axis is emerging which suggests that modulation of the gut microflora may be a tractable strategy for developing novel therapeutics for complex stress-related CNS disorders where there is a huge unmet medical need.     

Microbes and the mind: emerging hallmarks of the gut microbiota–brain axis

The concept of a gut microbiota–brain axis has emerged to describe the complex and continuous signalling between the gut microbiota and host nervous system. This review examines key microbial‐derived neuromodulators and structural components that comprise the gut microbiota–brain axis. To conclude, we briefly identify current challenges in gut microbiota–brain research and suggest a framework to characterize these interactions. Here, we propose five emerging hallmarks of the gut microbiota–brain axis: (i) Indistinguishability, (ii) Emergence, (iii) Bidirectional Signalling, (iv) Critical Window Fluidity and (5) Neural Homeostasis.     

微生物-肠-脑轴的研究进展

肠道微生物群能够调节宿主肠道稳态,同时参与调节宿主神经系统功能和行为。肠道菌群失调可能导致宿主神经系统功能障碍,从而引发神经退行性疾病。因此,研究微生物在肠?脑轴中发挥的作用及其机制,靶向调控肠道微生物菌群结构和功能,将为神经系统疾病的诊断与治疗提供新的手段。近年来,有关肠道微生物与机体神经系统间的互作研究受到了广泛关注,然而其具体的调控机制还未明晰。因此,本文综述了肠道微生物对宿主神经健康的调节作用,以及肠道微生物与宿主间的互作在调节神经功能、行为的潜力等研究进展,为更好地了解肠道微生物在调控宿主神经系统功能和行为的作用机制提供参考。     

Contributions of the amygdala to emotion processing: from animal models to human behavior

Research on the neural systems underlying emotion in animal models over the past two decades has implicated the amygdala in fear and other emotional processes. This work stimulated interest in pursuing the brain mechanisms of emotion in humans. Here, we review research on the role of the amygdala in emotional processes in both animal models and humans. The review is not exhaustive, but it highlights five major research topics that illustrate parallel roles for the amygdala in humans and other animals, including implicit emotional learning and memory, emotional modulation of memory, emotional influences on attention and perception, emotion and social behavior, and emotion inhibition and regulation.     

Major Histocompatibility Complex class IIb polymorphism influences gut microbiota composition and diversity

Animals harbour diverse communities of symbiotic bacteria, which differ dramatically among host individuals. This heterogeneity poses an immunological challenge: distinguishing between mutualistic and pathogenic members of diverse and host‐specific microbial communities. We propose that Major Histocompatibility class II (MHC) genotypes contribute to recognition and regulation of gut microbes, and thus, MHC polymorphism contributes to microbial variation among hosts. Here, we show that MHC IIb polymorphism is associated with among‐individual variation in gut microbiota within a single wild vertebrate population of a small fish, the threespine stickleback. We sampled stickleback from Cedar Lake, on Vancouver Island, and used next‐generation sequencing to genotype the sticklebacks’ gut microbiota (16S sequencing) and their MHC class IIb exon 2 sequences. The presence of certain MHC motifs was associated with altered relative abundance (increase or decrease) of some microbial Families. The effect sizes are modest and entail a minority of microbial taxa, but these results represent the first indication that MHC genotype may affect gut microbiota composition in natural populations (MHC‐microbe associations have also been found in a few studies of lab mice). Surprisingly, these MHC effects were frequently sex‐dependent. Finally, hosts with more diverse MHC motifs had less diverse gut microbiota. One implication is that MHC might influence the efficacy of therapeutic strategies to treat dysbiosis‐associated disease, including the outcome of microbial transplants between healthy and diseased patients. We also speculate that macroparasite‐driven selection on MHC has the potential to indirectly alter the host gut microbiota, and vice versa.     

肠道菌群与大脑相互作用的研究进展

定植于宿主肠道中的微生物参与了宿主多种生理功能以及相关疾病的发生。一个新的医学研究热点在近年内逐渐被关注,肠道菌群可通过主要由神经—内分泌介导的肠—脑轴(gut-brain axis,GBA)与大脑进行双向式交流。GBA不仅实现了肠道菌群对大脑发育和功能的影响,也促使大脑对肠道菌群结构和多样性的改变成为可能。本文旨在对肠道菌群与大脑相互作用的研究进展作一综述,以期为肠道和大脑功能领域的研究以及重要相关疾病的治疗策略提供理论依据。     

Visceral pain: gut microbiota,a new hope?

Background

Visceral pain is a complex and heterogeneous disorder, which can range from the mild discomfort of indigestion to the agonizing pain of renal colic. Regulation of visceral pain involves the spinal cord as well as higher order brain structures. Recent findings have linked the microbiota to gastrointestinal disorders characterized by abdominal pain suggesting the ability of microbes to modulate visceral hypersensitivity and nociception to pain.

Main body

In this review we describe the neuroanatomical basis of visceral pain signaling and the existing evidence of its manipulation exerted by the gut microbiota. We included an updated overview of the potential therapeutic effects of dietary intervention, specifically probiotics and prebiotics, in alleviating hypersensitivity to visceral pain stimuli.

Conclusions

The gut microbiota dramatically impacts normal visceral pain sensation and affects the mechanisms mediating visceral nociception. Furthermore, manipulation of the gut microbiota using prebiotics and probiotics plays a potential role in the regulation of visceral pain disorders.

     

肠道菌群在应激诱发大鼠高血压中的作用

观察应激性高血压大鼠肠道菌群的变化,探索肠道菌群在应激性高血压发生中的作用。应激性高血压模型的制备:大鼠每天2次接受足底电刺激加噪声的应激,每次2 h,中间间隔4 h,共14 d。血压的测量:大鼠股动脉插管,Powerlab系统记录血压。伪无菌鼠的制备:在大鼠的饮用水中加入氨苄西林(1 g/L)、万古霉素(500 mg/L)、新霉素(1 g/L)和甲硝唑(1 g/L)4种抗生素,共持续4周。采用Illumina MiSeq测序技术,测定大鼠粪便中微生物16S rRNA V3-V4区序列,并对群落结构和多样性进行比较分析。慢性应激导致大鼠血压升高,心率加快,血清去甲肾上腺素浓度增加;α多样性分析显示应激大鼠肠道菌群丰富度和多样性下降,β多样性分析显示应激组大鼠肠道菌群物种组成变少,差异性变大;伪无菌鼠的肠道菌群物种单一,仅有少量的变形菌门。给予伪无菌鼠相同的慢性应激,不能引起大鼠血压升高、心率增快,血清去甲肾上腺素浓度未升高。应激引起大鼠肠道菌群紊乱,应激性高血压的发生可能依赖于肠道菌群的状态。     

Altered neuropathic pain behaviour in a rat model of depression is associated with changes in inflammatory gene expression in the amygdala

The association between chronic pain and depression is widely recognized, the comorbidity of which leads to a heavier disease burden, increased disability and poor treatment response. This study examined nociceptive responding to mechanical and thermal stimuli prior to and following L5‐L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL), a model of neuropathic pain, in the olfactory bulbectomized (OB) rat model of depression. Associated changes in the expression of genes encoding for markers of glial activation and cytokines were subsequently examined in the amygdala, a key brain region for the modulation of emotion and pain. The OB rats exhibited mechanical and cold allodynia, but not heat hyperalgesia, when compared with sham‐operated counterparts. Spinal nerve ligation induced characteristic mechanical and cold allodynia in the ipsilateral hindpaw of both sham and OB rats. The OB rats exhibited a reduced latency and number of responses to an innocuous cold stimulus following SNL, an effect positively correlated with interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐10 mRNA expression in the amygdala, respectively. Spinal nerve ligation reduced IL‐6 and increased IL‐10 expression in the amygdala of sham rats. The expression of CD11b (cluster of differentiation molecule 11b) and GFAP (glial fibrillary acidic protein), indicative of microglial and astrocyte activation, and IL‐1β in the amygdala was enhanced in OB animals when compared with sham counterparts, an effect not observed following SNL. This study shows that neuropathic pain‐related responding to an innocuous cold stimulus is altered in an animal model of depression, effects accompanied by changes in the expression of neuroinflammatory genes in the amygdala .     

肠道微生物与血清素互作研究进展

肠道微生物在肠道稳态和大脑健康中发挥着举足轻重的作用.血清素是大脑的一种重要的单胺类神经递质,90％以上在结肠肠嗜铬细胞中由色氨酸代谢转化而来,在机体发挥广泛作用.近年来的研究表明,血清素对机体发挥的作用可能受到肠道微生物影响.肠道中某些微生物具有产生血清素的能力,同时,微生物群及其代谢产物(如丁酸)能通过影响色氨酸羟...     

The role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis: current challenges and perspectives

Brain and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are intimately connected to form a bidirectional neurohumoral communication system. The communication between gut and brain, knows as the gut-brain axis, is so well established that the functional status of gut is always related to the condition of brain. The researches on the gut-brain axis were traditionally focused on the psychological status affecting the function of the GI tract. However, recent evidences showed that gut microbiota communicates with the brain via the gut-brain axis to modulate brain development and behavioral phenotypes. These recent fi ndings on the new role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis implicate that gut microbiota could associate with brain functions as well as neurological diseases via the gut-brain axis. To elucidate the role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis, precise identification of the composition of microbes constituting gut microbiota is an essential step. However, identifi cation of microbes constituting gut microbiota has been the main technological challenge currently due to massive amount of intestinal microbes and the diffi culties in culture of gut microbes. Current methods for identifi cation of microbes constituting gut microbiota are dependent on omics analysis methods by using advanced high tech equipment. Here, we review the association of gut microbiota with the gut-brain axis, including the pros and cons of the current high throughput methods for identifi cation of microbes constituting gut microbiota to elucidate the role of gut microbiota in the gut-brain axis.     

Mind-altering with the gut: Modulation of the gut-brain axis with probiotics

It is increasingly evident that bidirectional interactions exist among the gastrointestinal tract, the enteric nervous system, and the central nervous system. Recent preclinical and clinical trials have shown that gut microbiota plays an important role in these gut-brain interactions. Furthermore, alterations in gut microbiota composition may be associated with pathogenesis of various neurological disorders, including stress, autism, depression, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, the concepts of the microbiota-gut-brain axis is emerging. Here, we review the role of gut microbiota in bidirectional interactions between the gut and the brain, including neural, immune-mediated, and metabolic mechanisms. We highlight recent advances in the understanding of probiotic modulation of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders via the gut-brain axis.     

Gut power: Modulation of human amyloid formation by amyloidogenic proteins in the gastrointestinal tract

Protein assembly into amyloid fibers underlies many neurodegenerative disorders. In Parkinson's disease, amyloid formation of α-synuclein is linked to brain cell death. The gut–brain axis plays a key role in Parkinson's disease, and initial α-synuclein amyloid formation may occur distant from the brain. Because different amyloidogenic proteins can cross-seed, and α-synuclein is expressed outside the brain, amyloids present in the gut (from food products and secreted by microbiota) may modulate α-synuclein amyloid formation via direct interactions. I here describe existing such data that only began to appear in the literature in the last few years. The striking, but limited, data set—spanning from acceleration to inhibition—calls for additional investigations that may unravel disease mechanisms as well as new treatments.     

Increased Neural Habituation in the Amygdala and Orbitofrontal Cortex in Social Anxiety Disorder Revealed by fMRI

A characterizing symptom of social anxiety disorder (SAD) is increased emotional reactivity towards potential social threat in combination with impaired emotion and stress regulation. While several neuroimaging studies have linked SAD with hyperreactivity in limbic brain regions when exposed to emotional faces, little is known about habituation in both the amygdala and neocortical regulation areas. 15 untreated SAD patients and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during repeated blocks of facial emotion () and object discrimination tasks (). Emotion processing networks were defined by a task-related contrast (). Linear regression was employed for assessing habituation effects in these regions. In both groups, the employed paradigm robustly activated the emotion processing and regulation network, including the amygdalae and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Statistically significant habituation effects were found in the amygdalae, OFC, and pulvinar thalamus of SAD patients. No such habituation was found in healthy controls. Concurrent habituation in the medial OFC and the amygdalae of SAD patients as shown in this study suggests intact functional integrity and successful short-term down-regulation of neural activation in brain areas responsible for emotion processing. Initial hyperactivation may be explained by an insufficient habituation to new stimuli during the first seconds of exposure. In addition, our results highlight the relevance of the orbitofrontal cortex in social anxiety disorders.     

The gut bacterial community affects immunity but not metabolism in a specialist herbivorous butterfly

1. Plant tissues often lack essential nutritive elements and may contain a range of secondary toxic compounds. As nutritional imbalance in food intake may affect the performances of herbivores, the latter have evolved a variety of physiological mechanisms to cope with the challenges of digesting their plant‐based diet. Some of these strategies involve living in association with symbiotic microbes that promote the digestion and detoxification of plant compounds or supply their host with essential nutrients missing from the plant diet. In Lepidoptera, a growing body of evidence has, however, recently challenged the idea that herbivores are nutritionally dependent on their gut microbial community. It is suggested that many of the herbivorous Lepidopteran species may not host a resident microbial community, but rather a transient one, acquired from their environment and diet. Studies directly testing these hypotheses are however scarce and come from an even more limited number of species.
2. By coupling comparative metabarcoding, immune gene expression, and metabolomics analyses with experimental manipulation of the gut microbial community of prediapause larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia, L.), we tested whether the gut microbial community supports early larval growth and survival, or modulates metabolism or immunity during early stages of development.
3. We successfully altered this microbiota through antibiotic treatments and consecutively restored it through fecal transplants from conspecifics. Our study suggests that although the microbiota is involved in the up‐regulation of an antimicrobial peptide, it did not affect the life history traits or the metabolism of early instars larvae.
4. This study confirms the poor impact of the microbiota on diverse life history traits of yet another Lepidoptera species. However, it also suggests that potential eco‐evolutionary host‐symbiont strategies that take place in the gut of herbivorous butterfly hosts might have been disregarded, particularly how the microbiota may affect the host immune system homeostasis.

     

Altitudinal variation of the gut microbiota in wild house mice

The maintenance of oxygen homeostasis in the gut is critical for the maintenance of a healthy gut microbiota. However, few studies have explored how the concentration of atmospheric oxygen affects the gut microbiota in natural populations. High‐altitude environments provide an opportunity to study the potential effects of atmospheric oxygen on the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Here, we characterized the caecal microbial communities of wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) in two independent altitudinal transects, one in Ecuador and one in Bolivia, from sea level to nearly 4,000 m. First, we found that differences in altitude were associated with differences in the gut microbial community after controlling for the effects of body mass, diet, reproductive status and population of origin. Second, obligate anaerobes tended to show a positive correlation with altitude, while all other microbes tended to show a negative correlation with altitude. These patterns were seen independently in both transects, consistent with the expected effects of atmospheric oxygen on gut microbes. Prevotella was the most‐enriched genus at high elevations in both transects, consistent with observations in high‐altitude populations of pikas, ruminants and humans, and also consistent with observations of laboratory mice exposed to hypoxic conditions. Lastly, the renin–angiotensin system, a recently proposed microbiota‐mediated pathway of blood pressure regulation, was the top predicted metagenomic pathway enriched in high altitudes in both transects. These results suggest that high‐altitude environments affect the composition and function of the gut microbiota in wild mammals.     

The temporal dynamics of voluntary emotion regulation

Background

Neuroimaging has demonstrated that voluntary emotion regulation is effective in reducing amygdala activation to aversive stimuli during regulation. However, to date little is known about the sustainability of these neural effects once active emotion regulation has been terminated.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We addressed this issue by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy female subjects. We performed an active emotion regulation task using aversive visual scenes (task 1) and a subsequent passive viewing task using the same stimuli (task 2). Here we demonstrate not only a significantly reduced amygdala activation during active regulation but also a sustained regulation effect on the amygdala in the subsequent passive viewing task. This effect was related to an immediate increase of amygdala signal in task 1 once active emotion regulation has been terminated: The larger this peak postregulation signal in the amygdala in task 1, the smaller the sustained regulation effect in task 2.

Conclusions/Significance

In summary, we found clear evidence that effects of voluntary emotion regulation extend beyond the period of active regulation. These findings are of importance for the understanding of emotion regulation in general, for disorders of emotion regulation and for psychotherapeutic interventions.