AUTHOR=Zhai Jinghui , Zhang Yue , Ma Shuyue , Zhang Yingli , Jin Miao , Yan Huiyu , Zhang Sixi 

TITLE=The role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in drug-induced brain injury: mechanisms and therapeutic implications

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2025.1604539

DOI=10.3389/fcell.2025.1604539

ISSN=2296-634X

ABSTRACT=Drug-induced brain injury (DIBI) results from toxicity, interactions or misuse and is increasingly linked to gut-microbiota dysbiosis operating via the gut–brain axis. Disturbed microbial balance drives three core mechanisms—oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and metabolic dysfunction—leading to blood–brain barrier leakage, neuronal loss and cognitive impairment; antibiotics, antineoplastics and psychoactive drugs further promote bacterial translocation and systemic inflammation. Microbial metabolites and neurotransmitters also mediate post-injury anxiety and depression. Restoring microbial equilibrium with probiotics, prebiotics or microbiota transplantation attenuates these pathways and offers a promising therapeutic strategy for DIBI.