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The gut-brain axis: Emerging evidence in health and disease

Scientists and clinicians have long been fascinated by the relationship between the brain and the gut, however our understanding of the mechanisms behind this complex and bidirectional interaction is still only basic. This interaction, termed the gut-brain axis (also known as the brain-gut axis), is thought to be involved in many regular functions and systems within the healthy body, in addition to the pathogenesis of many diseases from neurological and degenerative conditions to autoimmune diseases. The gut-brain axis is now being investigated as a potential target for treatment of these diseases. This collection brings together research published in BioMed Central journals into all aspects of the gut-brain axis and its role in health and disease.

This is a retrospective collection, collated from previously published articles from BioMed Central journals.

Collection published: 23 May 2014

  1. Patients with mental disorders have a high risk of intestinal parasitic infection due to poor hygiene practices. Hence, to better clarify this overlooked phenomenon, the current study is conducted to determine...

    Authors: Amir Abdoli, Meysam Olfatifar, Aida Vafae Eslahi, Zeinab Moghadamizad, Rasoul Samimi, Mohammad Amin Habibi, Amir Sam Kianimoghadam, Milad Badri and Panagiotis Karanis
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2024 16:7
    Content type: Review Published on:

  2. The gut microbiota has recently attracted attention as a pathogenic factor in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Microfold (M) cells, which play a crucial role in the gut immune response against external antigens, are ...

    Authors: Namkwon Kim, In Gyoung Ju, Seung Ho Jeon, Yeongae Lee, Min-Ji Jung, Min Sung Gee, Jae Seok Cho, Kyung-Soo Inn, Lee Ann Garrett-Sinha, Myung Sook Oh and Jong Kil Lee
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:282
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Stroke is the most common cause of long-term disability and places a high economic burden on the global healthcare system. Functional outcomes from stroke are largely determined by the extent of ischemic injur...

    Authors: Maria P. Blasco Conesa, Frank W. Blixt, Pedram Peesh, Romeesa Khan, Janelle Korf, Juneyoung Lee, Gayathri Jagadeesan, Alexander Andersohn, Tushar K. Das, Chunfeng Tan, Claudia Di Gesu, Gabriela Delevati Colpo, Jose Félix Moruno-Manchón, Louise D. McCullough, Robert Bryan and Bhanu P. Ganesh
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:230
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the outer membrane component of Gram-negative bacteria. LPS-binding protein (LBP) is an acute-phase reactant that mediates immune responses triggered by LPS and has been used as a b...

    Authors: Yujia Zhao, Douglas I. Walker, Christina M. Lill, Bastiaan R. Bloem, Sirwan K. L. Darweesh, Brismar Pinto-Pacheco, Brooklyn McNeil, Gary W. Miller, Alicia K. Heath, Myrthe Frissen, Dafina Petrova, Maria-Jose Sánchez, María-Dolores Chirlaque, Marcela Guevara, Maurizio Zibetti, Salvatore Panico…
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:170
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a respiratory failure syndrome that can cause many complications, impacting patients’ quality of life. Behavioral and cognitive disorders have attracted increasing...

    Authors: Hong Zheng, Qihui Zhao, Jianuo Chen, Jiahui Lu, Yuping Li and Hongchang Gao
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:166
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Although the advent of combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) has transformed HIV into a manageable chronic disease, an estimated 30–50% of people living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit cognitive and motor deficit...

    Authors: Marina McDew-White, Eunhee Lee, Lakmini S. Premadasa, Xavier Alvarez, Chioma M. Okeoma and Mahesh Mohan
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:62
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. The microbiota–gut–brain axis plays an important role in the development of depression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 5-HT on cognitive function, learning and memory induced by chroni...

    Authors: Junxing Ma, Ran Wang, Yaoxing Chen, Zixu Wang and Yulan Dong
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2023 20:23
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. The aim of this study was to establish a complete retinal cell atlas of ischemia–reperfusion injury by single-cell RNA sequencing, and to explore the underlying mechanism of retinal ischemia–reperfusion injury...

    Authors: Yangyang Li, Yuwen Wen, Xiuxing Liu, Zhuang Li, Bingying Lin, Caibin Deng, Ziyu Yu, Yingting Zhu, Ling Zhao, Wenru Su and Yehong Zhuo
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 19:261
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Early life stress (ELS) is associated with the development of schizophrenia later in life. The hippocampus develops significantly during childhood and is extremely reactive to stress. In rodent models, ELS can...

    Authors: Keke Hao, Huiling Wang, Yuejin Zhang, Xinhui Xie, Huan Huang, Cheng Chen, Shilin Xu, Rui Xu, Chang Shu, Zhongchun Liu, Yuan Zhou, Gavin P. Reynolds and Gaohua Wang
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 19:232
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Neuroinflammation-induced injury is intimately associated with poor prognosis in patients with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase–stimulator of interferon gene (cGAS–STING) ax...

    Authors: Rui Ding, Haiyan Li, Yaqi Liu, Weiyang Ou, Xifang Zhang, Huihui Chai, Xiaofei Huang, Weijie Yang and Qiujing Wang
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 19:137
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is prevalent in stroke patients. The etiology of PSCI remains largely unknown. We previously found that stroke induces gut microbiota dysbiosis which affects brain injury...

    Authors: Huidi Wang, Mingsi Zhang, Jie Li, Jianhai Liang, Mengjia Yang, Genghong Xia, Yueran Ren, Hongwei Zhou, Qiheng Wu, Yan He and Jia Yin
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 19:76
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Behavioral comorbidities, such as anxiety and depression, are a prominent feature of IBD. The signals from the inflamed gut that cause changes in the brain leading to these behavioral comorbidities remain to b...

    Authors: Nina L. Cluny, Kewir D. Nyuyki, Wagdi Almishri, Lateece Griffin, Benjamin H. Lee, Simon A. Hirota, Quentin J. Pittman, Mark G. Swain and Keith A. Sharkey
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2022 19:73
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. A healthy gut with normal intestinal microflora is completely disrupted by oral antibiotics. The byproducts of harmful gut bacteria can interfere with brain development and may contribute to autism. Strategies...

    Authors: Afaf El-Ansary, Ramesa Shafi Bhat, Sooad Al-Daihan and Abeer M Al Dbass
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2015 7:7
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. The ingestion of a high-fat diet (HFD) and the resulting obese state can exert a multitude of stressors on the individual including anxiety and cognitive dysfunction. Though many studies have shown that exerci...

    Authors: Silvia S Kang, Patricio R Jeraldo, Aishe Kurti, Margret E Berg Miller, Marc D Cook, Keith Whitlock, Nigel Goldenfeld, Jeffrey A Woods, Bryan A White, Nicholas Chia and John D Fryer
    Citation: Molecular Neurodegeneration 2014 9:36
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  16. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional syndrome characterized by chronic abdominal pain accompanied by altered bowel habits. Although generally considered a functional disorder, there is now substantia...

    Authors: Mihaela Fadgyas-Stanculete, Ana-Maria Buga, Aurel Popa-Wagner and Dan L Dumitrascu
    Citation: Journal of Molecular Psychiatry 2014 2:4
    Content type: Review Published on:

  17. The visceral sensitivity index (VSI) is a useful self-report measure of the gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety (GSA) of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Previous research has shown that wor...

    Authors: Tatsuo Saigo, Jun Tayama, Toyohiro Hamaguchi, Naoki Nakaya, Tadaaki Tomiie, Peter J Bernick, Motoyori Kanazawa, Jennifer S Labus, Bruce D Naliboff, Susumu Shirabe and Shin Fukudo
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2014 8:10
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. Intestinal nematodes affecting dogs, i.e. roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, have a relevant health-risk impact for animals and, for most of them, for human beings. Both dogs and humans are typically infecte...

    Authors: Donato Traversa, Antonio Frangipane di Regalbono, Angela Di Cesare, Francesco La Torre, Jason Drake and Mario Pietrobelli
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2014 7:67
    Content type: Review Published on:

  20. The innate immune response is the first line of defence against invading microorganisms and it is also activated in different neurologic/neurodegenerative pathological scenarios. As a result, the family of the...

    Authors: Iciar Gárate, Borja García-Bueno, José Luis Muñoz Madrigal, Javier R Caso, Luis Alou, María Luisa Gómez-Lus and Juan Carlos Leza
    Citation: Journal of Neuroinflammation 2014 11:8
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. Intracellular calcium signaling regulates a variety of cellular and physiological processes. The inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) is a ligand gated calcium channel present on the membranes of endoplas...

    Authors: Manivannan Subramanian, Siddharth Jayakumar, Shlesha Richhariya and Gaiti Hasan
    Citation: BMC Neuroscience 2013 14:157
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Human and animals studies support the idea that there is a gender-related co-morbidity of pain-related and inflammatory gastrointestinal (GI) diseases with psychological disorders. This co-morbidity is the evi...

    Authors: Jia Luo, Tao Wang, Shan Liang, Xu Hu, Wei Li and Feng Jin
    Citation: Behavioral and Brain Functions 2013 9:46
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. Psychopathology seems to play a role in reflux pathogenesis and vice versa, yet few population-based studies have systematically investigated the association between gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) an...

    Authors: Livia Sanna, Amanda L Stuart, Michael Berk, Julie A Pasco, Paolo Girardi and Lana J Williams
    Citation: BMC Psychiatry 2013 13:194
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  25. Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that can modulate host responses and presumably host behavior. Host responses as well as pathogenesis vary depending on the parasite strains that are responsible for...

    Authors: Boyin Jia, Huijun Lu, Quan Liu, Jigang Yin, Ning Jiang and Qijun Chen
    Citation: Parasites & Vectors 2013 6:161
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. The existence of microbe free animals or plants in nature is virtually impossible as they and plants have a certain degree of symbiotic association with microbes. This symbiotic association leads to the format...

    Authors: Yadvir Singh, Javed Ahmad, Javed Musarrat, Nasreen Z Ehtesham and Seyed E Hasnain
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2013 5:12
    Content type: Review Published on:

  27. Comet assay is a quick method for assessing DNA damage in individual cells. It allows the detection of single and double DNA strand breaks, which represent the direct effect of some damaging agents. This study...

    Authors: Afaf El-Ansary, Ghada H Shaker, Amina R El-Gezeery and Laila Al-Ayadhi
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2013 5:9
    Content type: Research Published on:

  28. Mental health disorders, depression in particular, have been described as a global epidemic. Research suggests that a variety of lifestyle and environmental changes may be driving at least some portion of the ...

    Authors: Alison C Bested, Alan C Logan and Eva M Selhub
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2013 5:5
    Content type: Review Published on:

  29. Rapid scientific and technological advances have allowed for a more detailed understanding of the relevance of intestinal microbiota, and the entire body-wide microbiome, to human health and well-being. Rodent...

    Authors: Alison C Bested, Alan C Logan and Eva M Selhub
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2013 5:4
    Content type: Review Published on:

  30. In recent years there has been a renewed interest concerning the ways in which the gastrointestinal tract – its functional integrity and microbial residents – might influence human mood (e.g. depression) and b...

    Authors: Alison C Bested, Alan C Logan and Eva M Selhub
    Citation: Gut Pathogens 2013 5:3
    Content type: Review Published on:

  31. Previous studies have reported that patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) show high neuroticism. However, the precise association between the IBS subtypes and the degree of neuroticism in younger popula...

    Authors: Jun Tayama, Naoki Nakaya, Toyohiro Hamaguchi, Tadaaki Tomiie, Masae Shinozaki, Tatsuo Saigo, Susumu Shirabe and Shin Fukudo
    Citation: BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2012 6:20
    Content type: Research Published on: