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Review
. 2013 Jan-Feb;4(1):17-27.
doi: 10.4161/gmic.22973. Epub 2012 Nov 30.

The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology

Delphine M Saulnier  1 , Yehuda Ringel, Melvin B Heyman, Jane A Foster, Premysl Bercik, Robert J Shulman, James Versalovic, Elena F Verdu, Ted G Dinan, Gail Hecht, Francisco Guarner
Affiliations
Review

The intestinal microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics in neurogastroenterology

Delphine M Saulnier et al. Gut Microbes. 2013 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

The brain-gut axis allows bidirectional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric nervous system (ENS), linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. Recent experimental work suggests that the gut microbiota have an impact on the brain-gut axis. A group of experts convened by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) discussed the role of gut bacteria on brain functions and the implications for probiotic and prebiotic science. The experts reviewed and discussed current available data on the role of gut microbiota on epithelial cell function, gastrointestinal motility, visceral sensitivity, perception and behavior. Data, mostly gathered from animal studies, suggest interactions of gut microbiota not only with the enteric nervous system but also with the central nervous system via neural, neuroendocrine, neuroimmune and humoral links. Microbial colonization impacts mammalian brain development in early life and subsequent adult behavior. These findings provide novel insights for improved understanding of the potential role of gut microbial communities on psychological disorders, most particularly in the field of psychological comorbidities associated with functional bowel disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and should present new opportunity for interventions with pro- and prebiotics.

Keywords: biomarkers; gastrointestinal tract; human trials; immune; microbiome; microbiota; neurogastroenterology; prebiotic; probiotic.

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Figures

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Figure 1. Interaction of the gut microbiome, probiotics and prebiotics on the brain gut axis. Modified from reference .
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Figure 2. In vivo effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) on the major apical Cl−/OH- exchanger (DRA) expression. Immunofluorescent localization of DRA (red) and villin (green) in the colonic epithelium of control mice and 24h-LA treated mice. Control colon shows a modest expression of DRA on the epithelial surface whereas LA-treated colon shows enhanced expression of the DRA as visualized from the increased intensity of the yellow color in the merge picture. Published with permission from Am J Physiol.
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Figure 3. Different distribution of bacterial taxa in children with irritable bowel syndrome was correlated with the relative frequency of abdominal pain. Bacterial taxa (specified in leftmost column) were defined by randomForest and confirmed by feature selection using Boruta. The list is sorted first by Mann-Whitney U score followed by the largest disparity in medians for each group. Taxa represent the lowest taxonomic depth (Genus) that is labeled by the Ribosomal Database Project Classifier. Red rectangles display the HM (high-medium) abdominal pain phenotype. Light blue rectangles display the L0 LO (low-none) abdominal pain phenotype. Boxes represent the first quartile, median and third quartile of the OTU distributions for each pain group. Empty circles represent outliers that are 1.5 greater than the respective interquartile ranges. (A) OTUs with greater abundance in patients with HM vs L0 abdominal pain phenotypes. (B) OTUs with reduced abundance in patients with HM vs L0 abdominal pain phenotypes. Published with permission from Gastroenterology.
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