From gut to brain: understanding the role of microbiota in inflammatory bowel disease

Front Immunol. 2024 Mar 21:15:1384270. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1384270. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

With the proposal of the "biological-psychological-social" model, clinical decision-makers and researchers have paid more attention to the bidirectional interactive effects between psychological factors and diseases. The brain-gut-microbiota axis, as an important pathway for communication between the brain and the gut, plays an important role in the occurrence and development of inflammatory bowel disease. This article reviews the mechanism by which psychological disorders mediate inflammatory bowel disease by affecting the brain-gut-microbiota axis. Research progress on inflammatory bowel disease causing "comorbidities of mind and body" through the microbiota-gut-brain axis is also described. In addition, to meet the needs of individualized treatment, this article describes some nontraditional and easily overlooked treatment strategies that have led to new ideas for "psychosomatic treatment".

Keywords: brain-gut-microbiota axis; comorbidities of mind and body; inflammatory bowel disease; psychological disorders; treatment strategy.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Brain / metabolism
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Humans
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / etiology
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / metabolism
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / therapy
  • Mental Disorders* / metabolism
  • Microbiota*

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for theresearch, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 82271978) and National Natural Science Foundation of China project (No. 81904176).