Microbiota-neuroepithelial signalling across the gut-brain axis

Takahiro E Ohara; Elaine Y Hsiao

doi:10.1038/s41579-024-01136-9

Microbiota-neuroepithelial signalling across the gut-brain axis

Nat Rev Microbiol. 2025 Jan 2. doi: 10.1038/s41579-024-01136-9. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Takahiro E Ohara¹, Elaine Y Hsiao^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. t.ohara@ucla.edu.
² Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. ehsiao@g.ucla.edu.
³ UCLA Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, Department of Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. ehsiao@g.ucla.edu.

PMID: 39743581
DOI: 10.1038/s41579-024-01136-9

Abstract

Research over the past two decades has established a remarkable ability of the gut microbiota to modulate brain activity and behaviour. Conversely, signals from the brain can influence the composition and function of the gut microbiota. This bidirectional communication across the gut microbiota-brain axis, involving multiple biochemical and cellular mediators, is recognized as a major brain-body network that integrates cues from the environment and the body's internal state. Central to this network is the gut sensory system, formed by intimate connections between chemosensory epithelial cells and sensory nerve fibres, that conveys interoceptive signals to the central nervous system. In this Review, we provide a broad overview of the pathways that connect the gut and the brain, and explore the complex dialogue between microorganisms and neurons at this emerging intestinal neuroepithelial interface. We highlight relevant microbial factors, endocrine cells and neural mechanisms that govern gut microbiota-brain interactions and their implications for gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric health.

Publication types

Review