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Vagal Pathways for Microbiome-Brain-Gut Axis Communication

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Microbial Endocrinology: The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((MICENDO,volume 817))

Abstract

There is now strong evidence from animal studies that gut microorganism can activate the vagus nerve and that such activation plays a critical role in mediating effects on the brain and behaviour. The vagus appears to differentiate between non-pathogenic and potentially pathogenic bacteria even in the absence of overt inflammation and vagal pathways mediate signals that can induce both anxiogenic and anxiolytic effects, depending on the nature of the stimulus. Certain vagal signals from the gut can instigate an anti-inflammatory reflex with afferent signals to the brain activating an efferent response, releasing mediators including acetylcholine that, through an interaction with immune cells, attenuates inflammation. This immunomodulatory role of the vagus nerve may also have consequences for modulation of brain function and mood.

What is currently lacking are relevant data on the electrophysiology of the system. Certainly, important advances in our understanding of the gut-brain and microbiome- gut-brain axis will come from studies of how distinct microbial and nutritional stimuli activate the vagus and the nature of the signals transmitted to the brain that lead to differential changes in the neurochemistry of the brain and behaviour.

Understanding the induction and transmission of signals in the vagus nerve may have important implications for the development of microbial-or nutrition based therapeutic strategies for mood disorders.

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Abbreviations

5-HT:

5-Hydroxytryptamine

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

CCK:

Cholecystokinin

CNS:

Central nervous system

CRF:

Corticotropin-releasing factor

DHA:

Docosahexaenoic acid

DRG:

Dorsal root ganglia

DSS:

Dextran sodium sulfate

ENS:

Enteric nervous system

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

GABA:

Gamma-aminobutyric acid

GI:

Gastrointestinal

GLP-1:

Glucagon-like peptide-1

HPS:

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease

IGLE:

Intraganglionic laminar vagal afferent ending

IKCa :

Calcium dependent potassium channel

IPAN:

Intrinsic primary afferent neuron

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharide

MDD:

Major depressive disorder

mRNA:

Messenger RNA

NTS:

Nucleus of the solitary tract

PSA:

Polysaccharide

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

PYY:

Peptide YY

TNF:

Tumor necrosis factor

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Paul Forsythe

  2. Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Brain Body Institute, McMaster University, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Room T3304, Juravinski Tower, 50 Charlton Avenue, E, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8N 4A6

    John Bienenstock

  3. Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience, St. Joseph Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Wolfgang A. Kunze

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  1. Paul Forsythe
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  2. John Bienenstock
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  3. Wolfgang A. Kunze
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Correspondence to John Bienenstock .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Immunotherapeutics and Biotechnology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Abilene, Texas, USA

    Mark Lyte

  2. Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College, Cork, Cork, Ireland

    John F. Cryan

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Forsythe, P., Bienenstock, J., Kunze, W.A. (2014). Vagal Pathways for Microbiome-Brain-Gut Axis Communication. In: Lyte, M., Cryan, J. (eds) Microbial Endocrinology: The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 817. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0897-4_5

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