Relationship between gut microbiota and substance addiction and its research progress / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

Microbiota is the entire collection of microorganisms in a specific niche, such as the human gut. It impacts almost all organ systems and is related to disease resistance and susceptibility of the host. The microbiome refers to all of the genetic material within a microbiota. Microbiota is studied by means of sequencing specific genes or metagenomes; analyzing the species and their abundance and function; and determining the structure, diversity, evolutionary relationships, biological and medical significance, and their interactions with the environment of the microbiota. Human gut microbiota refers to that living in the human intestinal tract, including bacteria, fungi and viruses (bacteriophages). Current studies show that gut microbiota is closely related to human health, and its influence scope is far beyond the digestive system, but also involves the immune system, cardiovascular system, nervous system and other aspects. Substance addiction, a chronic recurrent brain disease, is characterized by persistent craving for addictive substances and forced drug use, which can cause changes in gut microbiota. We intend to discuss the relationship of gut microbiota with alcohol, cocaine, opioids, methamphetamine and other addictive substances, indicating that intervention in gut microbiota, which affects the structure and function of the brain, may become a new way to treat substance addiction.