The #Brain-#Gut-#Muscle #Axis: a new frontier in exercise physiology? 💫
The concept of the brain–gut–muscle axis is gaining attention as a fundamental crossroad for energy homeostasis, exercise performance and overall health.
As Marcus Aurelius said: "Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears”, the mind can be in control of the body, in health or disease, in healing or exercising. ✨
Communications between the gut microbiota and the nervous system (#gut– #brain #axis) involves the enteric nervous system, vagus nerve, the immune and endocrine systems. The enteric nervous system, made by enteroendocrine cells, release hormones that cross the blood brain barrier (BBB), reaching the brain cells. The vagus nerve, intricately connected to enteroendocrine cells, represents a central link in the gut-brain crosstalk.
Immune-signaling mediators such as cytokines, chemokines, and microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) play a crucial role in the communication between the gut microbiota and the brain. Through these signaling pathways, the gut microbiota influences #immune #responses and #neuroinflammation, while the brain acts regulating motility, mucus secretion, barrier integrity, and visceral sensitivity.
One example? Let’s focus on #lactate and its role as signalling molecule... 🚦
Far beyond being a waste or fatigue substance, lactate is a stress-related signaling molecule that plays key roles in health and disease. Biomarker, used in exercise and sport physiology, lactate positively correlates with exercise intensity (stress level). Some of its pleiotropic functions include:
1. regulation of energy production (Cori’s cycle, also extended to the gut with SCFA release, crossroad between glycolysis and oxidative metabolism, changes in substrate utilization);
2. cross-talking between tissues via monocarboxylate transporter isoforms (MCTs);
3. epigenetic role (lactylation)
Lactate clearance, production, and transportation are not only regulated by exercise intensity, type of metabolism and glucose availability, but also by genetic variations in lactate-related genes (MCTs) and gut microbiota. #Veillonella #atypica (next generation probiotic developed by FitBiomics), #Eubacterium #hallii, #Anaerobutyricum #hallii, #Anaerostipes are examples of bacteria that metabolize lactate into SCFAs supporting energetic need in endurance and promoting SCFA delivery to the brain.
While #exercise boosts the flux of SCFAs and lactate via an increased expression of MCTs, in neuropathological diseases, tissues are not efficiently clearing this metabolite, resulting in an allostatic overload and consequent symptoms.
Regular and moderate exercise, reshaping gut microbiota diversity and metabolic activity, elicits positive impacts on muscle, brain and overall well-being.
How far are we from gut microbiota-based, precision exercise interventions? ⌛ 🚴 📄
LINK: https://lnkd.in/dxhQZKqJ
www.minutia.ai
