Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31646148›Full record

ReviewMicrobial cell (Graz, Austria)2019

Gut microbial metabolites in depression: understanding the biochemical mechanisms.

Giorgia Caspani, Sidney Kennedy, Jane A Foster, Jonathan Swann

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Microbial cell (Graz, Austria), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 151 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
151citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
32.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

151 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 276 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Gut-brain axis in health and brain disease.Chinese medical journal · 2026
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91 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Giorgia CaspaniComputational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
Sidney KennedyCentre for Mental Health and Krembil Research Centre, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CA.
Jane A FosterDepartment of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Jonathan SwannComputational Systems Medicine, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, UK.
McMaster University · CA

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/N006321/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gastrointestinal and central function are intrinsically connected by the gut microbiota, an ecosystem that has co-evolved with the host to expand its biotransformational capabilities and interact with host physiological processes by means of its metabolic products. Abnormalities in this microbiota-gut-brain axis have emerged as a key component in the pathophysiology of depression, leading to more research attempting to understand the neuroactive potential of the products of gut microbial metabolism. This review explores the potential for the gut microbiota to contribute to depression and focuses on the role that microbially-derived molecules - neurotransmitters, short-chain fatty acids, indoles, bile acids, choline metabolites, lactate and vitamins - play in the context of emotional behavior. The future of gut-brain axis research lies is moving away from association, towards the mechanisms underlying the relationship between the gut bacteria and depressive behavior. We propose that direct and indirect mechanisms exist through which gut microbial metabolites affect depressive behavior: these include (i) direct stimulation of central receptors, (ii) peripheral stimulation of neural, endocrine, and immune mediators, and (iii) epigenetic regulation of histone acetylation and DNA methylation. Elucidating these mechanisms is essential to expand our understanding of the etiology of depression, and to develop new strategies to harness the beneficial psychotropic effects of these molecules. Overall, the review highlights the potential for dietary interventions to represent such novel therapeutic strategies for major depressive disorder.

Indexed as

bile acidsindolelactatemental healthmicrobiometryptophanvitamins

Identifiers

PMID31646148
PMCPMC6780009
OpenAlexW2978837562

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.