Recent studies have identified specific gut bacteria associated with food addiction and potential protective effects, providing new insights into the treatment of food addiction and related eating disorders.
New research uncovers mechanisms of communication between the brain and gut.
An international team of researchers has identified specific gut bacteria that are linked to the development of food addictions that may contribute to obesity in both mice and humans. In addition, they have identified bacteria that have a protective effect against food addiction.
The study was recently presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum 2024 and simultaneously published in the journal Neuroscience. Intestine.
Professor Elena Martín-Garcia, from the Institute of Neuropharmacology and Neuropherics, School of Medicine and Life Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain, told the FENS Forum: “Food addiction is multifactorial. It is characterised by a loss of control over food intake and is associated with obesity, other eating disorders and altered composition of the gut microbiome. Until now, the mechanisms underlying this behavioural disorder were poorly understood.”
Speaking at the FENS Forum, Professor Rafael Maldonado, director of the institute, said: “Our findings may allow us to identify new biomarkers for food addiction and, most importantly, to evaluate whether beneficial bacteria can be used as a new treatment for obesity-related behaviors for which there are currently no effective treatments. A possible new treatment would be the use of beneficial bacteria and dietary supplements.”
Methodology and bacterial influence
Professor Martín García used the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS 2.0) to diagnose food addiction in mice and humans. This scale includes 35 questions to be answered by humans and, in mice, can also be categorized into three criteria: persistent food seeking, strong motivation to obtain food, and compulsive behavior.
She and her colleagues looked at the gut bacteria of food-addicted and non-addicted mice and found that the food-addicted mice had an increase in bacteria belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria and a decrease in bacteria belonging to the phylum Actinobacteria. These mice also had reduced abundance of another type of bacteria called the phylum Proteobacteria. Brautia From the phylum Basilota.
The researchers used the YFAS to classify 88 patients into those with and without food addiction. Similar to the results in mice, the phylum Actinobacteria and Brautia found in people with food addiction and showed an increase in the phylum Proteobacteria. Further analysis showed how the findings in humans correlated with those in mice.
Professor Martín García said: “The results of our studies in both mice and humans suggest that certain microbiota may be effective in preventing food addiction, in particular: Brautia Highlighting the potential beneficial effects of this particular gut bacteria, we therefore investigated the protective effect of oral administration of the non-digestible carbohydrates “prebiotics” lactulose and rhamnose. Brautia In this experiment in the intestine, mice were tested and found that Brautia The food dependency in the mice’s feces improved dramatically, and the food dependency in the mice also improved dramatically. seed of Brautia It is called Blautia wexlerae Take orally as a probiotic.
“Characterization of the intestinal microbiota of mice and humans suggests a possible detrimental effect of bacteria belonging to the phylum Proteobacteria and a potential protective effect against the development of food addiction through an increase in Actinobacteria and Bacillus subtilis.”
Professor Martín-García says the results of this study show how gut bacteria can influence brain function and vice versa: “For the first time, we have demonstrated a direct interplay between gut composition and brain gene expression, shedding light on the complex, multifactorial origins of this important obesity-related behavioral disorder. Understanding the interplay between behavioral changes and gut bacteria is a step towards future treatments for food addiction and related eating disorders.”
Neurobiological factors in food addiction
She also work investigating We elucidate how microRNAs (miRNAs), small single-stranded molecules that control gene expression and contribute to almost every cellular process, are involved in food addiction: altered miRNA expression may be involved in the mechanisms underlying this disorder.
Using a technique called Tough Decoy (TuD), which inhibits specific miRNAs in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of the mouse brain, the researchers created mice that were prone to food addiction. The mPFC is the part of the brain involved in self-control and decision-making. These are the same mice used in the study above, the food-addicted mice.
They found that inhibiting miRNA-29c-3p promoted the persistence of the response and increased the vulnerability of the mice to developing food addiction, while inhibiting another miRNA, called miRNA-665-3p, promoted compulsive behavior and vulnerability to food addiction.
Professor Maldonado said: “These two miRNAs may act as protective factors against food addiction, which helps us understand the neurobiology of loss of feeding control, which plays a key role in obesity and related diseases. To further understand these mechanisms, we are currently investigating how the gut microbiota and miRNA expression in the brain interact in mice.”
Professor Richard Roche, Associate Head of Psychology at Maynooth University in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland, who chairs the FENS Communications Committee and was not involved in the study, said: “Compulsive eating and food addiction are a growing problem worldwide. There are many factors that contribute to it, not least the environment in which people live and the availability of certain types of food. However, we have known for some time that eating disorders are probably attributable to something, and Professor Martín-García and colleagues’ work shows that different types of bacteria in the gut influence brain function, and vice versa, in both humans and mice. This understanding paves the way for the development of potential new treatments for eating disorders and we look forward to seeing more research in this area.”
Reference: “Gut microbiota signatures in vulnerability to food addiction in mice and humans” by Solveiga Samurenaite, Alejandra García Blanco, Jordi Meinelis Persicas, Laura Domingo Rodríguez, Judit Cabana Dominguez, Noelia Fernández Castillo, Edurne Gago García, Laura Pineda Cirella, Aurelius Burcas, José Espinosa Carrasco, Silvia Arboleya, Jessica Latorre, Katherine Stanton, Koji Hosomi, Jun Kunisawa, Blu Colman, José Manuel Fernández Leal, Rafael Maldonado, Elena Martín García, 26 June 2024 Intestine.
DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-331445
