The adult human gut microbiome has a metabolic capacity comparable to the liver and a physical mass comparable to the adult brain

Overview Debates Related claims Topics

Research following a mouse metabolomic screen confirmed that 4-ethylphenyl sulfate is elevated in the feces and serum of autistic humans

Transplanting fecal microbiota from autistic individuals into germ-free mice transferred behavioral deficits to the recipient animals

Paul Patterson's maternal immune activation mouse model demonstrated that influenza infection during pregnancy resulted in behavioral abnormalities, intestinal permeability, and microbiome alterations in offspring

The gut-first hypothesis of Parkinson's disease proposes that alpha-synuclein aggregation initiates in enteric neurons and migrates to the brain via connecting nerve bundles

Germ-free mice raised in sterile isolators allow the transplantation of complete human microbiomes without competition from native mouse microbes

Elevated levels of fecal calprotectin and eosinophil protein X serve as clinical biomarkers of intestinal inflammation

Gut microbes consume and metabolize dietary polyphenols found in foods and beverages such as green tea and coffee

Clostridioides difficile is an antibiotic-resistant bacterial bloom that causes severe intestinal tissue damage

Intestinal dysbiosis and increased gut permeability can occur in patients without overt digestive symptoms

A metabolomic screen of mice displaying autism-like behavioral deviations identified a 40-fold elevation in the small phenolic molecule 4-ethylphenyl sulfate

Healthy human gut microbiomes contain between 200 and 500 different bacterial species

Fecal microbiota transplants achieve a greater than 90% clinical cure rate for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections

Human gut bacteria reside predominantly in the colon and in the small intestine

The nervous system in the gut communicates directly with the brain through the vagus nerve system and spinal nerves

Bacteroides fragilis is a gut bacterium present in approximately 30% to 50% of the healthy human population

Human milk oligosaccharides act as specific nutritional substrates that nourish beneficial gut bacteria

Transplanting fecal microbiota from individuals with Parkinson's disease into germ-free mice induced motor impairments and neuroinflammation not observed with healthy control microbiota

Administration of Bacteroides fragilis improved autism-like behavioral symptoms and resealed the intestinal epithelial barrier in mouse models

Commercial laboratory mice possess depleted gut microbiomes compared to wild mice due to standardized breeding environments and diets

Sealing the intestinal epithelial barrier in cell cultures and animal models prevented neuroactive molecules like 4-ethylphenyl sulfate from entering systemic circulation