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Molecular Aspects of Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Signaling
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Molecular Aspects of Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Signaling

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Neurobiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 18879

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Florian Reichmann

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Pharmacology, Otto Loewi Research Center, Medical University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 4, 8010 Graz, Austria
Interests: microbiota–gut–brain axis; animal models of neuropsychiatric disease; behavioral neuroscience; neurogenetics; stress and resilience

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microbiota–gut–brain axis signaling describes the complex bidirectional communication pathways between the gut and the brain. While signals from the brain have multiple well-known regulatory functions on digestion, emerging evidence has shown that the multitude of gut-derived signals is not only relevant for satiety and appetite, but able to modify multiple other brain functions. These signals include neural signals from the enteric nervous system, the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system, hormonal signals secreted for example by enteroendocrine cells and immune mediators secreted by immune cells. Over the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that the microbiota within the gastrointestinal tract including bacteria, virusus, fungi and archaea are also essential players interacting with host cells and producing metabolites able to act locally or even reach the brain. In fact, microbial alterations have been associated with a number of neuropsychiatric diseases, including for example autism spectrum disorder, depression, Parkinson’s disease, and anxiety disorders.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences focuses on molecular aspects of microbiota–gut–brain axis signaling and welcomes both original research articles and review papers that deal with mechanisms and molecules relevant for microbiota–gut–brain axis signaling in health and disease.

Dr. Florian Reichmann
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gut–brain axis
  • microbiota
  • probiotics
  • prebiotics
  • postbiotics
  • immune cells
  • microbial metabolites
  • neural signals
  • hormones

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2601 KiB  
Article
Antibiotic Knockdown of Gut Bacteria Sex-Dependently Enhances Intravenous Fentanyl Self-Administration in Adult Sprague Dawley Rats
by Michelle Ren and Shahrdad Lotfipour
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(1), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010409 - 27 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2316
Abstract
Communication between the brain and gut bacteria impacts drug- and addiction-related behaviors. To investigate the role of gut microbiota on fentanyl reinforcement and reward, we depleted gut bacteria in adult Sprague Dawley male and female rats using an oral, nonabsorbable antibiotic cocktail and [...] Read more.
Communication between the brain and gut bacteria impacts drug- and addiction-related behaviors. To investigate the role of gut microbiota on fentanyl reinforcement and reward, we depleted gut bacteria in adult Sprague Dawley male and female rats using an oral, nonabsorbable antibiotic cocktail and allowed rats to intravenously self-administer fentanyl on an escalating schedule of reinforcement. We found that antibiotic treatment enhanced fentanyl self-administration in males, but not females, at the lowest schedule of reinforcement (i.e., fixed ratio 1). Both males and females treated with antibiotics self-administered greater amounts of fentanyl at higher schedules of reinforcement. We then replete microbial metabolites via short-chain fatty acid administration to evaluate a potential mechanism in gut-brain communication and found that restoring metabolites decreases fentanyl self-administration back to controls at higher fixed ratio schedules of reinforcement. Our findings highlight an important relationship between the knockdown and rescue of gut bacterial metabolites and fentanyl self-administration in adult rats, which provides support for a significant relationship between the gut microbiome and opioid use. Further work in this field may lead to effective, targeted treatment interventions in opioid-related disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Signaling)
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Review

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28 pages, 2213 KiB  
Review
Zonulin as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis Disorders: Encouraging Results and Emerging Questions
by Apor Veres-Székely, Csenge Szász, Domonkos Pap, Beáta Szebeni, Péter Bokrossy and Ádám Vannay
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7548; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087548 - 19 Apr 2023
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 8455
Abstract
The relationship between dysbiosis and central nervous diseases has been proved in the last 10 years. Microbial alterations cause increased intestinal permeability, and the penetration of bacterial fragment and toxins induces local and systemic inflammatory processes, affecting distant organs, including the brain. Therefore, [...] Read more.
The relationship between dysbiosis and central nervous diseases has been proved in the last 10 years. Microbial alterations cause increased intestinal permeability, and the penetration of bacterial fragment and toxins induces local and systemic inflammatory processes, affecting distant organs, including the brain. Therefore, the integrity of the intestinal epithelial barrier plays a central role in the microbiota–gut–brain axis. In this review, we discuss recent findings on zonulin, an important tight junction regulator of intestinal epithelial cells, which is assumed to play a key role in maintaining of the blood–brain barrier function. In addition to focusing on the effect of microbiome on intestinal zonulin release, we also summarize potential pharmaceutical approaches to modulate zonulin-associated pathways with larazotide acetate and other zonulin receptor agonists or antagonists. The present review also addresses the emerging issues, including the use of misleading nomenclature or the unsolved questions about the exact protein sequence of zonulin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Signaling)
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13 pages, 749 KiB  
Review
Antibiotic-Therapy-Induced Gut Dysbiosis Affecting Gut Microbiota—Brain Axis and Cognition: Restoration by Intake of Probiotics and Synbiotics
by Divakar Dahiya and Poonam Singh Nigam
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3074; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043074 - 4 Feb 2023
Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7481
Abstract
Antibiotic therapy through short-term or repeated long-term prescriptions can have several damaging effects on the normal microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. Changes in microbiota could be multiple including decreased diversity of species in gut microbiota, changed metabolic activity, and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant [...] Read more.
Antibiotic therapy through short-term or repeated long-term prescriptions can have several damaging effects on the normal microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract. Changes in microbiota could be multiple including decreased diversity of species in gut microbiota, changed metabolic activity, and the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant strains. Antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis in turn can induce antibiotic-associated diarrhoea and recurrent infections caused by Clostridioides difficile. There is also evidence that the use of different chemical classes of antibiotics for the treatment of a variety of ailments can lead to several health issues including gastrointestinal, immunologic, and neurocognitive conditions. This review discusses gut dysbiosis, its symptoms and one important cause, which is antibiotic therapy for the induction of gut dysbiosis. Since the maintenance of good gut health is important for the well-being and functioning of physiological and cognitive activities through the normal gut-microbiota–brain relationship, the condition of dysbiosis is not desirable. Specific therapies are prescribed by medical practitioners for the cure of a variety of ailments, and, if the prescription of antibiotics becomes unavoidable, there is a possibility of the onset of gut dysbiosis as the side or after effects. Therefore, the restoration of imbalanced gut microbiota to its balanced condition becomes necessary. A healthy relationship between gut microbiota and the brain can be achieved with the introduction of probiotic strains into the gut in a practical and consumer-friendly way, such as consumption of food and beverages prepared with the use of characterised probiotic species, fermented foods as the potential biotics, or synbiotic supplements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis Signaling)
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