Stress in the microbiome-immune crosstalk

ABSTRACT

The gut microbiota exerts a mutualistic interaction with the host in a fragile ecosystem and the host intestinal, neural, and immune cells. Perturbations of the gastrointestinal track composition after stress have profound consequences on the central nervous system and the immune system. Reciprocally, brain signals after stress affect the gut microbiota highlighting the bidirectional communication between the brain and the gut. Here, we focus on the potential role of inflammation in mediating stress-induced gut-brain changes and discuss the impact of several immune cells and inflammatory molecules of the gut-brain dialogue after stress. Understanding the impact of microbial changes on the immune system after stress might provide new avenues for therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• Stress
• Th17 cells
• microbiota
• behaviors
• immune cells
• cytokines
• quorum sensing molecules

Acknowledgments

Work in Dr. Beurel’s lab was supported by the NIH (MH104656, MH110415). The author has nothing to disclose.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National institue of Health [MH104656, MH110415].