Deciphering the Gut Microbiome’s Influence on Depression: A Community-Level Constraint-Based Metabolic modelling Approach
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Background
Depression is a common mental disorder worldwide, and its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. However, increasing evidence suggests that gut microbiota play a significant role in the development of depression through the gut-brain-microbiota axis.
Results
This study utilized data from the Gmrepo database to match the gut microbiota profiles of 271 pairs of individuals with depression and healthy controls. Through systematic analysis and constrained metabolic modeling, we revealed the impact of the gut microbiome on depression. The main findings include:1.The gut microbial diversity in individuals with depression is significantly reduced compared to healthy individuals, particularly in terms of species richness and evenness.2.LEfSe analysis indicated that several species from the family Micrococcaceae are significantly enriched in patients with depression, whereas bacteria from the phylum Firmicutes are more abundant in healthy individuals.3.Metabolic pathway analysis revealed significant differences between the two groups in pathways related to fatty acid synthesis, the interconversion of pentoses and glucuronic acid, and thiamine metabolism.4.We also identified 21 differential metabolites, among which L-Dopa and copper ion metabolism showed significant differences, potentially playing an important role in the onset of depression.
Conclusions
Through systematic analysis and constrained metabolic modeling, this study revealed the potential association between gut microbiota and depression, highlighting the significant impact of microbial metabolic functions on host mental health. The findings provide potential biomarkers and metabolic targets for the future diagnosis and treatment of depression. In particular, the modulation of microbial metabolites may offer new avenues for clinical treatment of depression.
