Skip to main content
About the Institute
  • English
  • Français
  • Español
  • Russian
  • Portuguese
  • Polish
  • Turkish

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gastroenterology
  3. Depression: more accurate diagnosis thanks to the gut microbiota?
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • IBS Diagnosis Check List
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section
Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Gastroenterology
  3. Depression: more accurate diagnosis thanks to the gut microbiota?
Gastroenterology

Depression: more accurate diagnosis thanks to the gut microbiota?

Depression
Psychiatry Gastroenterology

Two recent studies have opened up new avenues for the diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders by analyzing the composition and metabolome of the gut microbiota.

Gastroenterology
Gynecology
Pediatrics
General Medicine
  • Our publications
    • News
    • Microbiota Mag
    • Thematic pages
    • Experts' point of view
    • Thematic folders
    • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
  • About the Institute
    • About us
    • International Microbiota Observatory
    • Press room
    • Partnerships
  • Congresses
    • Congress calendar
    • Congress reviews
  • Continuing Medical Education
    • Accrediting courses
  • Useful documents
    • How to talk about
    • Infographics
    • IBS Diagnosis Check List
    • Patients Stories

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

Lay public section

Find here your dedicated section

Sources

This article is based on scientific information

Sharing is caring

Your colleagues might be interested in this topic. Why not share it?

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
Actu PRO : Dépression : un diagnostic plus précis grâce au microbiote intestinal ?

About this article

Created 30 March 2021
Updated 11 January 2024

In recent years, many studies have examined the link between gut dysbiosis and depression, a condition that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. Two new studies have confirmed the gut microbiota’s role in the disease.

The endocannabinoid system: the link between depression and the gut microbiota

In a study carried out by the Pasteur Institute, CNRS and INSERM, naive mice received a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) from either healthy mice or mice with depression induced by unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS). The researchers then analyzed the gut microbiota, the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids and neurogenesis in the hippocampus (a brain region heavily involved in the development of depressive symptoms). According to the study, the symptoms of the UCMS mice (reduced hippocampal neurogenesis, mood disorders) had been transferred to the FMT mice. Metabolomic analysis of the FMT mice revealed an altered fatty acid metabolism characterized by deficits in lipid precursors of endogenous cannabinoids. This resulted in impaired activity of the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which is thought to have induced depression. Increasing endogenous cannabinoids, either via the pharmacological blockade of the enzymes that degrade them or through diet, reduced depressive symptoms in the mice that received the FMT from the UCMS mice. This increase in endogenous cannabinoids also led to a recovery in neurogenesis in the hippocampus of these mice. Lastly, a gut microbiota dysbiosis characterized by a decrease in Lactobacilli abundance was observed in both the UCMS (donor) and FMT (recipient) mice. Complementing the dietary intake of the FMT mice with a strain of Lactobacilli was sufficient to increase both endogenous cannabinoid brain levels and hippocampal neurogenesis, thus alleviating mood disorders. This work in mice provides a new mechanistic scenario for the gut microbiota’s involvement in depression via the endogenous cannabinoid system. The study also suggests that dietary interventions or the use of probiotics may be an effective means to fight against the symptoms of this disease.

Gut biomarkers: towards more accurate diagnosis?

In a second study, Chinese and American researchers identified 3 bacteriophages, 47 bacterial species and 50 metabolites whose fecal abundance differed between a first cohort of 118 patients with untreated major depressive disorder (MDD) and 118 healthy controls (HC). The analysis of a second, validation cohort (38 treated MDD patients vs. 38 HC) showed that 6 biomarkers (2 bacteria, 2 phages and 2 metabolites) made it possible to discriminate between MDD patients and healthy controls in both cohorts with an accuracy of more than 90%. Lastly, the researchers showed that levels of fecal GABA and its relevant metabolites were consistently decreased in MDD patients relative to HC. These findings suggest that fecal GABA levels in the patients with MDD may be modulated by a panel of gut microbes, which in turn may be collectively implicated in the development of MDD. These findings provide new directions to uncover the pathogenesis of MDD. They also help improve MDD diagnosis, which is currently incomplete and subject to misdiagnosis, by focusing on the gut microbiota.

Recommended by our community

"The importance of the gut microbiota" - Comment translated from buzocaperuzo (From Biocodex Microbiota Institute on X)

"Congrats on finally getting this information out.." -@GloriaR56965767 (From Biocodex Microbiota Institute on X)

"Awesome!! " -@fmoral1959 (From Biocodex Microbiota Institute on X)

Sources

Chevalier G, Siopi E, Guenin-Macé L et al. Effect of gut microbiota on depressive-like behaviors in mice is mediated by the endocannabinoid system. Nat Commun. 2020 Dec 11;11(1):6363

Yang J, Zheng P, Li Y et al. Landscapes of bacterial and metabolic signatures and their interaction in major depressive disorders. Sci Adv. 2020 Dec 2;6(49):eaba8555

Tags
Gut-brain axis Dysbiosis Depression Diagnosis Biomarker Microbiome Flora
    Created 30 March 2021
    Updated 11 January 2024

    About this article

    To know more about this topic.

    Main topic

    Depression

    Medical practice

    Psychiatry Gastroenterology

    Content type

    News
    Gastroenterology

    Association between fungal dysbiosis and environment

    The fungal portion of the gut microbiota (or mycobiota) has been much less studied than the bacterial...

    Find out more

    Your IBS Diagnosis Check List

    How many patients suffering from gut disorder do you see per week? How many are diagnosed with Irrita...

    Find out more

    Probiotics: what exactly are we talking about?

    From the Latin pro and Greek bios meaning “for life”, the term “probiotic” was suggested over 60 year...

    Find out more

    How do you choose a probiotic for your patient?

    Faced with a plethora of products on the market, it's not always easy for health professionals to sug...

    Find out more

    The Janus face of Antibiotics: Life Savers and Microbiota Disruptors

    A page turns: with the advent of antibiotics in the...

    Find out more

    Fecal transplantation - ready for prime time?

    Congress review By Pr. Danny De Looze Department of Gastroenterology University Hospital Gent, Belgi...

    Find out more

    Focus on antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD)

    Find out more

    Dampening gastrointestinal inflammation through nutrition

    by Dr Genelle Healey

    Find out more

    Continue reading

    News
    Actu PRO : Malnutrition : agir sur le microbiote pour améliorer la croissance, un prototype à l’essai
    08.07.2021

    Malnutrition: acting on the microbiota in order to improve growth, a trial prototype

    Read the article
    07.05.2025

    The microbial-metabolic nexus in colon cancer

    Read the article
    07.02.2025

    Your functional dyspepsia diagnosis check list

    Read the article
    17.04.2025

    Sensitivity to the additive E466: the role of the microbiota

    Read the article
    Photo HCPs: Clinical context over quick fix: the fresh consensus on microbiome testing
    11.04.2025

    Clinical context over quick fix: the fresh consensus on microbiome testing

    Read the article
    22.11.2023

    Is vaginal microbiota transfer the new miracle for C-section babies?

    Read the article
    Actu PRO : Alcoolisme : expliquer les troubles sociaux grâce au microbiote
    27.01.2021

    Alcoholism: explaining social disorders thanks to the microbiota

    Read the article
    20.03.2025

    Entacapone and the gut: a hidden impact on parkinson’s care

    Read the article
    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section
    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine
    • English
    • Français
    • Español
    • Russian
    • Portuguese
    • Polish
    • Turkish

    Browse the site

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Redirection

    You are about to be redirected and leave our website

    • Be redirected
    • Stay on the Biocodex Microbiota Institute's website

    Stay with us !

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    Explore

    14.05.2025

    Towards worldwide redefinition of healthy vaginal microbiota

    Read the article
    07.05.2025

    The microbial-metabolic nexus in colon cancer

    Read the article
    02.05.2025

    A new lens on chlamydia: beyond behavior, into the microbiome

    Read the article

    Stay updated

    Join the Microbiota Community of HCPs and researchers and receive “Microbiota Digest” and "Microbiota Mag" to stay up to date on the latest news about microbiota.

    * Mandatory Fields

    BMI 20-35

    • Our publications
      • News
      • Microbiota Mag
      • Thematic pages
      • Experts' point of view
      • Thematic folders
      • Overviews - Microbiota Magazine
    • About the Institute
      • About us
      • International Microbiota Observatory
      • Press room
      • Partnerships
    • Congresses
      • Congress calendar
      • Congress reviews
    • Continuing Medical Education
      • Accrediting courses
    • Useful documents
      • How to talk about
      • Infographics
      • IBS Diagnosis Check List
      • Patients Stories

      Join the microbiota community

      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • LinkedIn
      • YouTube
      • Instagram
      • Bluesky

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Discover

    Gastroenterology
    Gynecology
    Pediatrics
    General Medicine

    Lay public section

    Find here your dedicated section

    Join the microbiota community

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Bluesky

    © 2025 Biocodex. All rights reserved.

    • Legal notice
    • GTU
    • Data protection policy
    • Sitemap
    • Cookies settings
    • Digital accessibility : partially compliant
    Biocodex logo