ArticleScience translational medicine2019
The gut microbiota influences skeletal muscle mass and function in mice.
Article in Science translational medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 368 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Impact of a Yoga Intervention on Chronic Abdominal Pain, and Associations With the Metagenome and Metabolome in Participants With IBS
Effect of Consumption of Vegetable Protein-enriched Biscuits and Vitamin D Supplementation on the Progression of Sarcopenia in Elderly Subjects
Who cites it
368 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 513 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of molecular signaling in the muscle-brain-gut axis: exercise-induced myokines and microbial metabolites as key mediators.Molecular biology reports · 2026Pooled it
- Associations between gut microbiota and sarcopenia or its defining parameters in older adults: A systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Pooled it
- Gut microbial composition is altered in sarcopenia: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical studies.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Probiotics supplementation or probiotic-fortified products on sarcopenic indices in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis from recent randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in aging · 2024Pooled it
- Increasing gut short-chain fatty acids protects intestinal barrier function but does not spare muscle glycogen or impact aerobic performance.The Journal of physiology · 2026Trial
- Trial
- PasteurizedNutrients · 2024Trial
- Efficacy ofNutrients · 2024Trial
- Effect of gut microbiome modulation on muscle function and cognition: the PROMOTe randomised controlled trial.Nature communications · 2024Trial
- Eight Weeks ofNutrients · 2023Trial
- Worse muscle mass loss in adrenal Cushing syndrome vs. Cushing's disease: a comparative evaluation of chemiluminescence and LC-MS/MS cortisol assessment.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Article
- Fermented protein foods as modulators of the gut-muscle axis: mechanisms, evidence, and future directions.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Fermentation capacity of the gut microbiota influences exercise motivation and neuroendocrine integration.mSystems · 2026Article
- Age-dependent dynamics of cecal caproic acid in free-range Lueyang black-boned chickens and its effects on primary myoblasts.Poultry science · 2026Article
- Dietary Resistant Maltodextrin Attenuates Skeletal Muscle Atrophy in Association with Modulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Muscle Axis in Aged Mice.Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
- The hallmarks of skeletal muscle health.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- The Importance of the Gut-Muscle Axis: From Mechanistic Insights in Cell Culture and Rodent Models to Descriptive and Associative Evidence in Livestock.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- High-intensity interval training has a greater effect on metabolic profiles than the dietary composition in male rats.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Microbiome and aging: Trajectories of microbiome age across human ecosystems and their systemic effects.iMeta · 2026Review
- Links between bone fractures and the gut microbiota.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
308 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors at 9 institutions in 9 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The functional interactions between the gut microbiota and the host are important for host physiology, homeostasis, and sustained health. We compared the skeletal muscle of germ-free mice that lacked a gut microbiota to the skeletal muscle of pathogen-free mice that had a gut microbiota. Compared to pathogen-free mouse skeletal muscle, germ-free mouse skeletal muscle showed atrophy, decreased expression of insulin-like growth factor 1, and reduced transcription of genes associated with skeletal muscle growth and mitochondrial function. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry analysis of skeletal muscle, liver, and serum from germ-free mice revealed multiple changes in the amounts of amino acids, including glycine and alanine, compared to pathogen-free mice. Germ-free mice also showed reduced serum choline, the precursor of acetylcholine, the key neurotransmitter that signals between muscle and nerve at neuromuscular junctions. Reduced expression of genes encoding Rapsyn and Lrp4, two proteins important for neuromuscular junction assembly and function, was also observed in skeletal muscle from germ-free mice compared to pathogen-free mice. Transplanting the gut microbiota from pathogen-free mice into germ-free mice resulted in an increase in skeletal muscle mass, a reduction in muscle atrophy markers, improved oxidative metabolic capacity of the muscle, and elevated expression of the neuromuscular junction assembly genes
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.