In recent years, it has been shown that an enriched motor, sensory and social environment can benefit the central nervous system, as it promotes brain plasticity and cognitive function.

However, the possible role of intestinal microorganisms in mediating these beneficial effects has only recently been investigated.

A new study, coordinated by Cristina Limatola of the Vittorio Erspamer Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Sapienza University of Rome, analysed, in an experimental mouse model, the changes induced by environmental stimuli - of an enriched environment compared to standard enclosure conditions - on the intestinal microbiota and its metabolites. The study allowed the researchers to identify certain bacterial strains and the products of their metabolism - in particular, short-chain fatty acids - that mediate the beneficial effects of the enriched environment on central nervous system plasticity.

The paper, published in the journal Communications Biology, is a collaboration between the Vittorio Erspamer departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, Chemistry, Environmental Biology and the NMLab of Sapienza University of Rome with the Pasteur Institute Italy, the Italian Institute of Technology, the CNR, the University of Trieste and the IRCCS Neuromed in Pozzilli.

'Our work,' says Cristina Limatola, study coordinator, 'adds two fundamental elements to our current knowledge. The first is that microglial cells - the cells of the central nervous system with an immune function - represent the interface between the environment and signals from the gut microbiota. The second is that changes in our environment and the stimuli we receive from it contribute crucially to determining the composition of our microbiota'.

To achieve these results, a multidisciplinary approach was required, combining the expertise of neurophysiology and metabolomics - the science that studies the metabolome, i.e. the set of all metabolites involved in an organism's biochemical processes - with metagenomics - the branch of genomics that studies microbial communities in their natural environment - and bioinformatics.

 'This research,' concludes Cristina Limatola, 'highlights the role of the microbiota, the metabolome, cells of innate immunity and short-chain fatty acids in the communication mechanisms between brain and environment and opens the way for new interpretations of this two-way cross-talk.

References:

Short-chain fatty acids promote the effect of environmental signals on the gut microbiome and metabolome in mice - Francesco Marrocco, Mary Delli Carpini, Stefano Garofalo, Ottavia Giampaoli, Eleonora De Felice, Maria Amalia Di Castro, Laura Maggi, Ferdinando Scavizzi, Marcello Raspa, Federico Marini, Alberta Tomassini, Roberta Nicolosi, Carolina Cason, Flavia Trettel, Alfredo Miccheli, Valerio Iebba, Giuseppina D'Alessandro, Cristina Limatola - Communications Biology (2022) https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-03468-9

Further Information

Cristina Limatola
Vittorio Erspamer Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
cristina.limatola@uniroma1.it