London : Gut microorganisms can interfere with human physiology by modulating the levels of serotonin – a neurotransmitter which carries messages to the brain, a new study suggests, reports PTI.
The finding could shed new light on the complex community of trillions of microorganisms living in all our guts, and how they interact with our bodies, researchers said.
Scientists at the University of Exeter Medical School in the UK and University of Zaragoza in Spain studied a protein known as TLR2, a critical detector of the microbiota found in the intestine.
They found that it regulates levels of serotonin – a neurotransmitter which carries messages to the brain, and is also found in the gut, where it regulates our bowel routines. The research, carried out in cell cultures and verified in mice, provides strong evidence that microbiota can interfere with human physiology by modulating the serotonin transporter activity.
Serotonin transporter is a target for numerous diseases and it seems that microbiota living in our guts is able to interfere with this transporter, controlling our serotonin levels.
The finding comes as scientists across the world are working to understand the complicated interactions between the “invisible world” of the microbiota in our bodies and the impact they have on our health and even our moods.
Recently, US scientists found evidence that the bacteria in the gut may play a role in causing Parkinson’s Disease. It may also help explain how the microbiota in our guts affect our physiology. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
