AUTHOR=Matsumoto Mitsuharu , Kibe Ryoko , Ooga Takushi , Aiba Yuji , Sawaki Emiko , Koga Yasuhiro , Benno Yoshimi TITLE=Cerebral Low-Molecular Metabolites Influenced by Intestinal Microbiota: A Pilot Study JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2013 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2013.00009 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2013.00009 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=

Recent studies suggest that intestinal microbiota influences gut-brain communication. In this study, we aimed to clarify the influence of intestinal microbiota on cerebral metabolism. We analyzed the cerebral metabolome of germ-free (GF) mice and Ex-GF mice, which were inoculated with suspension of feces obtained from specific pathogen-free mice, using capillary electrophoresis with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS). CE-TOFMS identified 196 metabolites from the cerebral metabolome in both GF and Ex-GF mice. The concentrations of 38 metabolites differed significantly (p < 0.05) between GF and Ex-GF mice. Approximately 10 of these metabolites are known to be involved in brain function, whilst the functions of the remainder are unclear. Furthermore, we observed a novel association between cerebral glycolytic metabolism and intestinal microbiota. Our work shows that cerebral metabolites are influenced by normal intestinal microbiota through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and indicates that normal intestinal microbiota closely connected with brain health and disease, development, attenuation, learning, memory, and behavior.