Lung Microbiome Regulates Microglial Cell Inflammation in the Brain

Research from the University Medical Center Göttingen finds evidence of a “lung-brain axis” that influences the development of autoimmune disease in rat brains. They report their findings in a publication in Nature titled The lung microbiome regulates brain autoimmunity.

Their study used antibiotics to modulate the lung microbiome in different ways. Antibiotic treatment that reduced the amount of one type of bacteria resulted in microglial cells of the brain to enter an anti-inflammatory state. However, treatment with a different antibiotic led the microglial cells to enter a pro-inflammatory state. Microglial cells normally help clean out dead and damaged cells from the brain and its inflammatory activity has roles in multiple sclerosis. 

While it is still unclear what exactly is being transported from the lungs to the brain, this study demonstrates the importance of the lung microbiome in influencing the health of other organs.

Citation

Leslie, M. (2022). New class of killer T cells may prevent autoimmune diseases. AAAS Articles DO Group, 375(6585), 1080–1080. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adb1862