A diet high in sugar and fat influences neurotransmitter metabolism and then affects brain function by altering the gut microbiota

Gut microbiota (GM) metabolites can modulate the physiology of the host brain through the gut–brain axis. We wished to discover connections between the GM, neurotransmitters, and brain function using direct and indirect methods. A diet with increased amounts of sugar and fat (high-sugar and high-fat (HSHF) diet) was employed to disturb the host GM. Then, we monitored the effect on pathology, neurotransmitter metabolism, transcription, and brain circular RNAs (circRNAs) profiles in mice. Administration of a HSHF diet-induced dysbiosis, damaged the intestinal tract, changed the neurotransmitter metabolism in the intestine and brain, and then caused changes in brain function and circRNA profiles. The GM byproduct trimethylamine-N-oxide could degrade some circRNAs. The basal level of the GM decided the conversion rate of choline to trimethylamine-N-oxide. A change in the abundance of a single bacterial strain could influence neurotransmitter secretion. These findings suggest that a new link between metabolism, brain circRNAs, and GM. Our data could enlarge the “microbiome–transcriptome” linkage library and provide more information on the gut–brain axis. Hence, our findings could provide more information on the interplay between the gut and brain to aid the identification of potential therapeutic markers and mechanistic solutions to complex problems encountered in studies of pathology, toxicology, diet, and nutrition development.

Yinrui Guo, Xiangxiang Zhu, Miao Zeng, Longkai Qi, Xiaocui Tang, Dongdong Wang, Mei Zhang, Yizhen Xie, Hongye Li, Xin Yang, Diling Chen