MINI REVIEW article -  Front. Neurosci., 07 February 2018 - Sec. Autonomic Neuroscience

Volume 12 - 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00049

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The Vagus Nerve at the Interface of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis

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Bruno Bonaz 1,2* - Thomas Bazin 3,4 - Sonia Pellissier 5

• 1. Division of Hepato-Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Grenoble Alpes, France

• 2. Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences, University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm U1216, Grenoble, France

• 3. Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Mycoplasmal and Chlamydial Infections in Humans, Univ. Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

• 4. Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Bordeaux Hospital University Center, Pessac, France

• 5. LIP/PC2S, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Grenoble, France

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Abstract

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The microbiota, the gut, and the brain communicate through the microbiota-gut-brain axis in a bidirectional way that involves the autonomic nervous system.

 

The vagus nerve (VN), the principal component of the parasympathetic nervous system, is a mixed nerve composed of 80% afferent and 20% efferent fibers.

 

The VN, because of its role in interoceptive awareness, is able to sense the microbiota metabolites through its afferents, to transfer this gut information to the central nervous system where it is integrated in the central autonomic network, and then to generate an adapted or inappropriate response.

 

A cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway has been described through VN's fibers, which is able to dampen peripheral inflammation and to decrease intestinal permeability, thus very probably modulating microbiota composition.

 

Stress inhibits the VN and has deleterious effects on the gastrointestinal tract and on the microbiota, and is involved in the pathophysiology of gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) which are both characterized by a dysbiosis.

 

A low vagal tone has been described in IBD and IBS patients thus favoring peripheral inflammation. Targeting the VN, for example through VN stimulation which has anti-inflammatory properties, would be of interest to restore homeostasis in the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

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Summary

Keywords

microbiota-gut-brain axis, vagus nerve, vagus nerve stimulation, cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, stress

 

Citation

Bonaz B, Bazin T and Pellissier S (2018) The Vagus Nerve at the Interface of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis. Front. Neurosci. 12:49. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00049

Received: 30 November 2017

Accepted: 22 January 2018

Published: 07 February 2018

Volume: 12 - 2018

Edited by: Jasenka Zubcevic, University of Florida, United States

Reviewed by: Pieter Vanden Berghe, KU Leuven, Belgium; Helio Cesar Salgado, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Updates: Check for updates

Copyright: © 2018 Bonaz, Bazin and Pellissier. 

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) and the copyright owner 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: Bruno Bonaz BBonaz@chu-grenoble.fr

This article was submitted to Autonomic Neuroscience, a section of the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience

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