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Review
. 2022 Aug 26:12:932309.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.932309. eCollection 2022.

Gut microbiota: Linking nutrition and perinatal depression

Jia Song  1 , Bi Zhou  1 , Juntao Kan  2 , Guangya Liu  3 , Sheng Zhang  1 , Liang Si  1 , Xianping Zhang  1 , Xue Yang  2 , Junhua Ma  1 , Junrui Cheng  4 , Yongde Yang  1 , Xiaobo Liu  1
Affiliations
Review

Gut microbiota: Linking nutrition and perinatal depression

Jia Song et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Perinatal depression is a mood disorder that is reported in women during pregnancy (prenatal) and after childbirth (postnatal). The onset of perinatal depression is associated with changes in reproductive hormones, stress hormones and neurosteroids. These chemical compounds can be modulated by the gut microbiota, which may affect maternal mental health during the perinatal period via the gut-brain-axis. Recent studies suggest that nutritional and dietary interventions (vitamin D, ω-3 fatty acids, iron, and fiber) effectively prevent or mitigate maternal depression and anxiety, but their efficacy is confounded by various factors, including the gut microbiota. Probiotics are efficacious in maintaining microbiota homeostasis, and thus, have the potential to modulate the development of perinatal mood disorders, despite no evidence in human. Therefore, clinical trials are warranted to investigate the role of probiotic supplementation in perinatal depression and behavioral changes. This article reviews the interplay between nutrition, gut microbiota and mood and cognition, and the evidence suggesting that probiotics affect the onset and development of perinatal depression.

Keywords: fiber; microbiota; nutrition; perinatal depression; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Author JC was employed by company Ingredion Incorporated. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diet and nutrition may regulate perinatal depression via the microbiota-gut-brain axis by influencing systemic biomarkers including estrogen, neurotransmitters, inflammatory cytokines and microbial metabolites. The role of probiotics on perinatal depression is controversial.
Figure 2
Figure 2
GUS-coding microbiota produces GUS to cleave and activate conjugated estrogen, which is released to the circulating system and binds to ERα, resulting in alleviated depression in women with low estrogen. GUS, β-glucuronidase; ER, estrogen receptor.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Microbiota dysbiosis increases pro-inflammatory cytokines, which promote the differentiation of naïve autoreactive CD4+ T-cells in Th17 cells and subsequently cause neurodegeneration. Elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines can also impair the tight junctions, leading to the intestinal transport of microorganisms and bacterial toxins, causing neuroinflammation. Microbiota dysbiosis decreases SCFAs, which exhibit neuroprotective functions by enhancing the intestinal tight junction and up-regulating the PPARγ and Nrf2 signaling pathways.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Action mechanisms of probiotics on depression via regulating systemic biomarkers. CRF, Corticotropin releasing factor; ACTH, adrenocorticotropic hormone; MAPK, MAP kinase; GABA, γ-Aminobutyric acid. Red squares indicate an increased level in depressive patients; green squares indicate a decreased level in depressive patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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