Title:The Co-Metabolism within the Gut-Brain Metabolic Interaction: Potential Targets for Drug Treatment and Design
Volume: 15
Issue: 2
Author(s): Mark Obrenovich, Rudolf Flückiger, Lorraine Sykes and Curtis Donskey
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Antibiotics, Microbiota, Neurotransmitters, Gut Brain axis, Metabolomics, Fecal Material Transplant, Signaling,
Metabolic Crosstalk, Trimethylamine, Trimethylamine N-Oxide, Carnitine.
Abstract: We know that within the complex mammalian gut is any number of metabolic biomes. The gut has been
sometimes called the “second brain” within the “gut-brain axis”. A more informative term would be the gut-brain
metabolic interactome, which is coined here to underscore the relationship between the digestive system and cognitive
function or dysfunction as the case may be. Co-metabolism between the host and the intestinal microbiota is essential for
life’s processes. How diet, lifestyle, antibiotics and other factors shape the gut microbiome constitutes a rapidly growing
area of research. Conversely, the gut microbiome also affects mammalian systems. Metabolites of the gut-brain axis are
potential targets for treatment and drug design since the interaction or biochemical interplay results in net metabolite
production or end-products with either positive or negative effects on human health. This review explores the gut-brain
metabolic interactome, with particular emphasis on drug design and treatment strategies and how commensal bacteria or
their disruption lead to dysbiosis and the effect this has on neurochemistry. Increasing data indicate that the intestinal
microbiome can affect neurobiology, from mental and even behavioral health to memory, depression, mood, anxiety,
obesity, cravings and even the creation and maintenance of the blood brain barrier.
