REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1634548
Mechanisms of the effect of gut microbes on depression through the microbiota-gut-brain axis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- 2Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College Union Hospital, Wuhan, China
- 3Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Depression is a significant public health issue which exerts profound psychological and social impacts on both individuals and society. However, existing therapeutic strategies often exhibit limited efficacy. Accumulating evidence underscores the vital role of gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of depression through the microbiota-gut-brain (MGB) axis. This involves multiple mechanisms, including short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolism, communication via the vagal nerve, regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and immune-inflammatory interactions. This review provides a comprehensive review of the mechanisms through which gut microbiota influences depression via the MGB axis. It synthesizes recent achievements in this field and evaluates the potential of microbiome-targeted therapies for depression treatment. Furthermore, it outlines future research directions to establish a theoretical framework for novel therapeutic approaches and to foster the development of this area.
Keywords: Gut Microbiota, MGB axis, Depression, Metabolism, neurotransmitters, Neuroinflammation
Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Wang, Wang, Chen, Zhou, Ma and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Pei Zhou, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College Union Hospital, Wuhan, China
Kai Ma, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Peng Zhang, Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College Union Hospital, Wuhan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.