Dissecting Causal Relationships Between Gut Microbiota Imbalance, Inflammatory Cytokines, and Structural Connectivity in the Brain: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Growing evidence indicates that the imbalances in gut microbiota influence brain structural connectivity, a key component of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. However, a deeper understanding of this complex bidirectional relationship remains elusive. This study aims to deepen our understanding of this bidirectional relationship by examining the underlying causal relationship and the mediating role of inflammatory cytokines.

Methods

This study analyzed GWAS data from 18,340 participants to investigate gut microbiota composition and MRI data from 82,382 participants to examine brain structural connectivity. We conducted a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore potential causal relationships between 211 gut microbiota taxa and 206 brain connectivi

SUBMITTER: Guo Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12571987 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature