REVIEW article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.947033

Role of brain-gut-muscle axis in human health and energy homeostasis

Yin Yunju1, 2, Qiuping Guo1*, Xihong Zhou1, Yehui Duan1, 3, Yuhuan Yang1, 2, Saiming Gong1, 2, Mengmeng Han1, 3, Yating Liu2, Zhikang Yang2 and Qinghua Chen2*
  • 1Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Physiology and Metabolism in Hunan Province, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China
  • 2College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, China
  • 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Provisionally accepted:
The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Abstract: The interrelationship between brain, gut and skeletal muscle plays a key role in energy homeostasis of the body, and is becoming a hot topic of research. Intestinal microbial metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, bile acids and tryptophan metabolites, communicate with the central nervous system by binding to their receptors. In fact, there is a cross-talk between the central nervous system and the gut. The central nervous system, under the stimulation of pressure, will also affect the stability of the intestinal system, including the local intestinal transport, secretion and permeability of the intestinal system. After the gastrointestinal tract collects information about food absorption, it sends signals to the central system through vagus nerve and other channels to stimulate the secretion of brain-gut peptide and produce feeding behavior, which is also an important part of maintaining energy homeostasis. Skeletal muscle has receptors for short-chain fatty acids and bile acids. Therefore, intestinal microorganisms can participate in skeletal muscle energy metabolism and muscle fiber conversion through their metabolites. Skeletal muscles can also communicate with the gut system during exercise. Under the stimulation of exercise, myokines secreted by skeletal muscle causes the secretion of intestinal hormones, and these hormones can act on the central system and affect food intake. The idea of the brain-gut-muscle axis is gradually being confirmed, and at present it is important for regulating energy homeostasis, which also seems to be relevant to human health. This article focuses on the interaction of intestinal microbial, central nervous, skeletal muscle energy metabolism, and feeding behavior regulation, which will provide new insight into the diagnostic and treatment strategies for obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases.

Keywords: Energy, Glucose, Appetite, microbiome, Muscle, CNS

Received: 16 Jun 2022; Accepted: 02 Sep 2022.

Copyright: © 2022 Yunju, Guo, Zhou, Duan, Yang, Gong, Han, Liu, Yang and Chen. 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(s) 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:
Ms. Qiuping Guo, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Physiology and Metabolism in Hunan Province, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Changsha, 410125, Hunan Province, China
Prof. Qinghua Chen, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan Province, China