Demonstrating the existence of a gut-peripheral nervous system axis for the first time

10.07.2024

The study Gut microbiota depletion delays somatic peripheral nerve development and impairs neuromuscular junction maturation, recently published in the scientific journal Gut Microbes, confirms for the first time a direct link between the intestinal microbiota and the peripheral nervous system and, in particular, that the total or partial absence of the intestinal microbiota negatively interferes with the development of the peripheral nerves and their target, the skeletal muscle. 

The intestinal microbiota, made up of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, colonizes the human gastrointestinal tract and has a decisive influence on health. In recent decades, the effects of the microbiota on other organs have been demonstrated and the alterations of this complex ecosystem - known as dysbiosis - have been linked to the onset of various pathologies.

The research is the result of an international collaboration between the University of Turin - with the teachers Giulia Ronchi, Giovanna Gambarotta, and Stefania Raimondo of the NICO - Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi and the Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, together with Salvatore Oliviero of the Department of life and systems biology UniTo ¬- together with Matilde Cescon professor of the Department of Molecular Medicine of the University of Padua and Kirsten Haastert-Talini for the University of Hannover in Germany.

This study, which demonstrates for the first time the existence of an intestine-peripheral nervous system axis, is the starting point for the Gut-NeuroMuscle project, financed by the PRIN program - Projects of Significant National Interest with which the Ministry of Research supports the basic research, which aims to explore the interaction between microbiota and nervous regeneration. Gut-NeuroMuscle (Intestine and neuromuscular system: study of the impact of the microbiota on nerve regeneration and muscle reinnervation after peripheral nerve injury) involves two research groups composed of Giulia Ronchi and Giovanna Gambarotta (NICO – University of Turin) and Matilde Cescon (University of Padua) and Sonia Calabrò (University of Padua).