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Updated: Jul 10, 2025

Microbiota Analysis Using Two-step PCR and Next-generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Published on: October 15, 2019
[The regulatory role of gut microbiota in inflammation in depression and anxiety]
1Mental Health Research Center, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
Numerous studies have identified the important role of the gut microbiota in maintaining of the CNS normal functioning and in the pathogenesis of mental disorders as one of the systems regulating the bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain. The microbiota has been found to be involved in the modulation of inflammation as well as in the development and function of the immune and nervous systems. It is assumed that in multicellular organisms, the nervous and immune systems have evolved together with the microbiota, being in interaction with it, in order to optimize the body's ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental stresses in order to maintain the constancy of its homeostasis. Normally, microbes live in stable communities, while under conditions of even mild or chronic social stress, significant shifts in the composition of the microbiota occur, which lead to the development of dysbiosis associated with changes in microbiota metabolites, which can lead to the formation of physiology and behavior characteristic of stress and depression. Microbes influence the activation of peripheral immune cells that regulate the response to neuroinflammation, brain damage, autoimmune responses, and neurogenesis. The review provides a brief overview of the normal gut microbiota, describes the factors influencing the state of the microbiota, and also discusses recent discoveries concerning the regulatory effect of the gut microbiota on CNS functions, the immune system, and inflammation in the pathogenesis of depression and anxiety.
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