Gut Bacteria Linked to Endocannabinoid Levels and Depression
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for AzumaHazuki:
Gut bacteria linked to endocannabinoid levels and depression:
Plenty of recent research has shown compelling correlations between gut microbiome alterations and mood disorders such as depression. But exactly how bacteria in the gut could be influencing depressive behaviors has been unclear. New research from a team of French scientists is shedding light on one possible causal mechanism, describing a pathway by which changes to the microbiome results in decreased activity in the hippocampus and subsequent depressive behavior.
The new research began by investigating microbiome changes in a mouse model of stress-induced depression. As well as initially examining the microbiome differences between healthy animals and animals with mood disorders, the researchers discovered those mood disorders could be transferred to the healthy animals via fecal transplants.
"Surprisingly, simply transferring the microbiota from an animal with mood disorders to an animal in good health was enough to bring about biochemical changes and confer depressive-like behaviors in the latter," explains Pierre-Marie Lledo, joint last author on the new study.
The next step was to investigate what mechanistic pathways could explain how the gut bacteria alterations were influencing depressive behaviors. It was here the researchers discovered changes in the depressed animals' endocannabinoid system.
[...] Changes to endocannabinoid signaling, particularly in the hippocampus, have been linked to depression and mood disorders, and in this new study, the researchers found microbiome alterations were associated with diminished endocannabinoid signaling in the hippocampus.
Journal Reference:
Gregoire Chevalier, Eleni Siopi, Laure Guenin-Mace, et al. Effect of gut microbiota on depressive-like behaviors in mice is mediated by the endocannabinoid system [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19931-2)
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