Finding the needle in the haystack: systematic identification of psychobiotics

Abstract

The brain-gut-microbiota axis is increasingly viewed as a novel paradigm in neuroscience with the capacity to generate innovative therapies for patients with psychiatric illnesses. Psychobiotics, defined as live bacteria, which when ingested in adequate amounts, confer mental health benefits, are increasingly of interest, as preclinical trials continue to show promising results. Particularly in stress-related, anxiety and depressive disorders, there is potential for psychobiotics to deliver new therapies. The question of which microbes may prove to be the most promising psychobiotic in delivering such therapies at a clinical level is of great importance. Here we look at the characteristics of psychobiotics, in an attempt to present an outline from which the identification of potential new psychobiotics may be possible. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on When Pharmacology Meets the Microbiome: New Targets for Therapeutics? To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v175.24/issuetoc.

Gut microbes and metabolites as modulators of blood-brain barrier integrity and brain health

“…135 Various enteric bacteria are also able to synthesize and release nitric oxide, 136 acetylcholine, 137 noradrenaline, 138 and dopamine. 139 The emerging field of "psychobiotics" 140,141 proposes to manipulate these neurotransmitter-producing bacteria to regulate gut and brain function.…”

Gut Reactions: Breaking Down Xenobiotic–Microbiome Interactions

“…has met with somewhat mixed results in healthy human subjects with strain-specific positive results (Allen et al, 2016;Papalini et al, 2018) and a failure to translate (Kelly et al, 2017). Refinements of the discovery pipeline may be necessary at various pressure points, and this could include the development of psychobiotics with specific mechanisms of action, tailored toward individual patient requirements (Bambury et al, 2018).…”

Rolle des Mikrobioms und der Darm-Gehirn-Interaktion bei Anorexia nervosa

“…Geringere Mengen an Mukus, eine reduzierte Darmwanddicke und Veränderungen in Tight-junction-Proteinen könnten gesamtheitlich zu einer erhöhten Darmpermeabilität führen. Darmbakterien beziehungsweise deren Produkte und Zellbestandteile, die so in die systemische Zirkulation gelangen, lösen Immunreaktionen und Entzündungen aus [42][43][44]. In einer Metaanalyse [45] bei Patientinnen mit AN wurde tatsächlich eine niedriggradige Entzündung bestätigt, die mit erhöhten Entzündungsmarkern wie TNF-alpha und IL-6 einhergeht.…”