Merchak Andrea, Gaultier Alban
University of Virginia, Center for Brain Immunology and Glia, Department of Neuroscience, 409 Lane Road, MR4 Research Building, Room, 5124, Charlottesville, VA, 22908, USA.
Brain Behav Immun Health. 2020 Nov 2;9:100169. doi: 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100169. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Treatments for depression and mood disorders have been singularly targeted at the brain without consideration for the context of the rest of the body. As evidence mounts for a role of autoimmunity and inflammation as risk factors and contributors to mood disorders, attention has shifted to one of the primary immunoregulatory organs in the body--the gut. Gut-brain interactions have been established and correlative links between the microbiome and mood have been examined, but with novel tools and a base of understanding, focus shifts to the mechanisms of these communications. In this review, we examine how the small molecules produced by metabolic processes of bacteria in the gut influence the host immune system. The gaps in knowledge discussed here include the under characterized diversity of small molecules crossing the gut walls, as well as the need to close the logical loop connecting the microbiome to the immune system, and the immune system to behavior and mood. As we move past the dawn of this field, more precise understanding using novel tools and techniques will help move toward a more informed and systematic process for clinically evaluating the efficacy of probiotics and bacterially derived compounds as antidepressants and mood regulators.
治疗抑郁症和情绪障碍的方法一直单一地针对大脑，而没有考虑身体其他部分的情况。随着越来越多的证据表明自身免疫和炎症作为情绪障碍的风险因素和促成因素所起的作用，注意力已转移到身体的主要免疫调节器官之一——肠道。肠道与大脑的相互作用已经确立，并且已经研究了微生物群与情绪之间的关联，但随着新工具和认识基础的出现，重点转向了这些通信的机制。在这篇综述中，我们研究肠道中细菌代谢过程产生的小分子如何影响宿主免疫系统。这里讨论的知识空白包括穿过肠壁的小分子特征不明确的多样性，以及需要闭合将微生物群与免疫系统、免疫系统与行为和情绪联系起来的逻辑循环。随着我们迈过这个领域的开端，使用新工具和技术进行更精确的理解将有助于朝着更明智、系统的过程迈进，以便临床评估益生菌和细菌衍生化合物作为抗抑郁药和情绪调节剂的功效。
