ArticleNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2020
Gut Microbiota Regulates Depression-Like Behavior in Rats Through the Neuroendocrine-Immune-Mitochondrial Pathway.
Article in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 3 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Fecal microbiota transplantation from psychiatric patients to mice - systematic review of methodologies and a call for standardization.Translational psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- The effects of oral probiotic intervention on brain structure and function in human adults: a systematic review.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of fecal microbiota transplant on symptoms of psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2020Pooled it
- A study on the efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation as an adjunctive therapy for treating depressive episodes.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Tai Chi rehabilitation program enhances blood pressure control and modulates inflammatory and Brain-Gut peptides in hypertension.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Trial
- Efficacy of empagliflozin as adjunctive therapy to citalopram in major depressive disorder: a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.BMC psychiatry · 2024Trial
- Feasibility, Acceptability, and Safety of Faecal Microbiota Transplantation in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023Trial
- The gut-brain axis and inflammatory mediators in suicide and mental disorders with high suicide rates: a review of current evidence.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2026Review
- From association to causality: mechanistic pathways linking the gut microbiome to psychiatric disorders.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- Roles of gut and oral microbiota in methamphetamine-induced multi-organ toxicity.Cell biology and toxicology · 2026Review
- Intestinal microbial remodeling and metabolite regulation may be related to the improvement of social avoidance in depressed mice by Modified Xiaoyaosan.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Xiaoyao Pill Regulates Gut Microbiota and Tryptophan Metabolism to Alleviate Depression Induced by Chronic Stress in Rats.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2025Article
- Production, Mechanisms, and Therapeutic Strategies of Tryptophan Metabolites in CNS Diseases.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Connection: A New Horizon in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Review
- Article
- Antibiotic-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis Worsened Outcomes in the Activity-Based Anorexia Model.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Electroacupuncture relieves type 2 diabetes by regulating gut microbiome.World journal of diabetes · 2025Article
- Nutritional Strategies in Major Depression Disorder: From Ketogenic Diet to Modulation of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- I "Gut" Rhythm: the microbiota as a modulator of the stress response and circadian rhythms.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- [Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2025Article
17 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
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeGut microbiota affects various physiological functions in the host and has crucial effects on the nervous system. There is increasing evidence of a correlation between gut microbiota and depression; however, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of depression-like behavior by gut microbiota remain unclear. In this study, we assessed the regulatory mechanism of gut microbiota on depression-like behavior in rats.
methodsWe transplanted fecal microbiota obtained from patients with depression and healthy individuals into germ-free (GF) rats (n=18) through fecal microbiota transplantation technology. Next, we assessed the affective behavior in the rats using the forced swimming test and a sucrose preference test. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the hippocampal levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), dopamine (DA), and noradrenaline (NE) and the serum levels of corticosterone (CORT), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-1 (IL-4), and interleukin-1 (IL-10). The mitochondrial morphology of small intestinal epithelial cells was observed through transmission electron microscopy.
resultsRats that received fecal microbiota from patients with depression (depression microbiota) exhibited depression-like behavior. They presented decreased levels of hippocampal neurotransmitters, serum CORT levels, and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, as well as increased ACTH, CRH, and serum levels of multiple pro-inflammatory cytokines. Observation of the mitochondria ultrastructure showed damaged mitochondria in the intestinal epithelial cells, significant endoplasmic reticulum expansion, and border aggregation of nuclear chromatin.
conclusionOur findings suggested that the depression-like behaviors induced by the depression microbiota through the neuroendocrine-immune-mitochondrial pathway, which were associated with neuroendocrine disorders, inflammatory responses, and mitochondrial damage.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.