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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Gut Microbiota: Influences and Impacts on Human Health
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Gut Microbiota: Influences and Impacts on Human Health

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Gut Microbiota".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 1026

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shuangjiang Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources and Environmental Microbiology Research Center, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Interests: environmental and gut microbiomes; microbial cultivation; microbe-host interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hao Zhou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Interests: microbiome; computational biology; bioinformatics; antibiotic resistance; Protein-protein interaction; metagenomics; metatranscriptomics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on pioneering research that reveals novel roles and mechanisms of gut microbiota in health and disease, highlighting underexplored and emerging areas that push beyond current knowledge. We are particularly interested in contributions that offer new perspectives on the gut–brain axis, introduce groundbreaking microbiome-based biomarkers for early disease detection, and explore innovative microbiome-targeted therapies. Additionally, we aim to feature studies on how gut microbiota interact with environmental factors, driving personalized medicine approaches and offering fresh insights into complex conditions such as autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders. This Special Issue will serve as a cutting-edge platform for researchers to share their latest discoveries, spotlighting the transformative potential of gut microbiota research in shaping future therapeutic strategies.

Prof. Dr. Shuangjiang Liu
Dr. Hao Zhou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gut microbiota
  • microbiome–disease interaction
  • metabolic disorders
  • immune regulation
  • neurological conditions
  • gastrointestinal health
  • probiotics and gut health

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 2844 KiB  
Article
The Gut Microbiome Regulates the Psychomotor Effects and Context-Dependent Rewarding Responses to Cocaine in Germ-Free and Antibiotic-Treated Animal Models
by Andrew D. Winters, Dina M. Francescutti, David J. Kracht, Diptaraj S. Chaudhari, Branislava Zagorac and Mariana Angoa-Perez
Microorganisms 2025, 13(1), 77; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13010077 - 3 Jan 2025
Viewed by 691
Abstract
Cocaine use disorder remains a major global health concern, with growing evidence that the gut microbiome modulates drug-related behaviors. This study examines the microbiome’s role in cocaine-induced psychomotor activation and context-dependent reward responses using germ-free (GF) and antibiotic-treated (ABX) models. In GF mice, [...] Read more.
Cocaine use disorder remains a major global health concern, with growing evidence that the gut microbiome modulates drug-related behaviors. This study examines the microbiome’s role in cocaine-induced psychomotor activation and context-dependent reward responses using germ-free (GF) and antibiotic-treated (ABX) models. In GF mice, the absence of a microbiome blunted cocaine-induced psychomotor activation (p = 0.013), which was restored after conventionalization. GF mice also showed reduced cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) (p = 0.002), which normalized after conventionalization. Dopaminergic function, critical for psychomotor responses and reward, was microbiome-dependent, with increased dopamine levels (p = 0.009) and normalized turnover ratios after conventionalization. In the ABX model, microbiome depletion reduced both cocaine-induced locomotion and CPP responses (p ≤ 0.009), further supporting the role of gut microbes in modulating psychomotor and reward behaviors. ABX-treated mice also showed significant declines in microbial diversity, shifts in bacterial structure, and dysregulation in metabolic, immune, and neurotransmitter pathways (p ≤ 0.0001), including alterations in short-chain fatty acids and gamma-aminobutyric acid metabolism. These findings highlight the gut microbiome’s critical role in regulating cocaine’s psychomotor and rewarding effects, offering insights into potential therapeutic strategies for cocaine use disorder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gut Microbiota: Influences and Impacts on Human Health)
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