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Cited by 448

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 86 of the 86 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Microbiota modulate sympathetic neurons via a gut–brain circuit

Open access
Muller, Paul A., Schneeberger, Marc, Matheis, Fanny, Wang, Putianqi, Kerner, Zachary, Ilanges, Anoj, Pellegrino, Kyle, del Mármol, Josefina, Castro, Tiago B. R., Furuichi, Munehiro, Perkins, Matthew, Han, Wenfei, Rao, Arka, Pickard, Amanda J., Cross, Justin R., Honda, Kenya, de Araujo, Ivan, Mucida, Daniel·2020·Nature

Abstract

Connections between the gut and brain monitor the intestinal tissue and its microbial and dietary content1, regulating both physiological intestinal functions such as nutrient absorption and motility2,3, and brain-wired feeding behaviour2. It is therefore plausible that circuits exist to detect gut microorganisms and relay this information to areas of the central nervous system that, in turn, regulate gut physiology4. Here we characterize the influence of the microbiota on enteric-associated neurons by combining gnotobiotic mouse models with transcriptomics, circuit-tracing methods and functional manipulations. We find that the gut microbiome modulates gut-extrinsic sympathetic neurons: microbiota depletion leads to increased expression of the neuronal transcription factor cFos, and colonization of germ-free mice with bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids suppresses cFos expression in the gut sympathetic ganglia. Chemogenetic manipulations, translational profiling and anterograde tracing identify a subset of distal intestine-projecting vagal neurons that are positioned to have an afferent role in microbiota-mediated modulation of gut sympathetic neurons. Retrograde polysynaptic neuronal tracing from the intestinal wall identifies brainstem sensory nuclei that are activated during microbial depletion, as well as efferent sympathetic premotor glutamatergic neurons that regulate gastrointestinal transit. These results reveal microbiota-dependent control of gut-extrinsic sympathetic activation through a gut–brain circuit. A combination of gnotobiotic mouse models, transcriptomics, circuit tracing and chemogenetic manipulations identifies neuronal circuits that integrate microbial signals in the gut with regulation of the sympathetic nervous system.

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Metadata

Authors
Muller, P. A., Schneeberger, M., Matheis, F., Wang, P., Kerner, Z., Ilanges, A., Pellegrino, K., del Mármol, J., Castro, T. B. R., Furuichi, M., Perkins, M., Han, W., Rao, A., Pickard, A. J., Cross, J. R., Honda, K., de Araujo, I., & Mucida, D.
Venue
Nature
Published
2020-07-08
Volume
583
Issue
7816
Pages
441-446
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W3040803262
Cited by
448
References
86
FWCI
15.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Microbiota modulate sympathetic neurons via a gut–brain circuit. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41586-020-2474-7
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Muller, P. A., Schneeberger, M., Matheis, F., Wang, P., Kerner, Z., Ilanges, A., Pellegrino, K., del Mármol, J., Castro, T. B. R., Furuichi, M., Perkins, M., Han, W., Rao, A., Pickard, A. J., Cross, J. R., Honda, K., de Araujo, I., & Mucida, D. (2020). Microbiota modulate sympathetic neurons via a gut–brain circuit. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2474-7

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