Multi-omics approach identifies gut microbiota variations associated with depression

Abstract The gut microbiota plays a potential role in the pathophysiology of depression through the gut–brain axis. This cross-sectional study in 400 participants from the PREDIMED-Plus study investigates the interplay between gut microbiota and depression using a multi-omics approach. Depression wa...

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Main Authors: Adrián Hernández-Cacho, Jesús F. García-Gavilán, Alessandro Atzeni, Prokopis Konstanti, Clara Belzer, Jesús Vioque, Dolores Corella, Montserrat Fitó, Josep Vidal, Virginia Mela, Liming Liang, Laura Torres-Collado, Oscar Coltell, Nancy Babio, Clary Clish, Javier Hernando-Redondo, Miguel Á Martínez-González, Fenglei Wang, Isabel Moreno-Indias, Jiaqi Ni, Courtney Dennis, Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Francisco J. Tinahones, Frank B. Hu, Jordi Salas-Salvadó
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-025-00707-9
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Summary:Abstract The gut microbiota plays a potential role in the pathophysiology of depression through the gut–brain axis. This cross-sectional study in 400 participants from the PREDIMED-Plus study investigates the interplay between gut microbiota and depression using a multi-omics approach. Depression was defined as antidepressant use or high Beck Depression Inventory-II scores. Gut microbiota was characterized by 16S rRNA sequencing, and faecal metabolites were analysed via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Participants with depression exhibited significant differences in gut microbial composition and metabolic profiles. Differentially abundant taxa included Acidaminococcus, Christensenellaceae R-7 group, and Megasphaera, among others. Metabolomic analysis revealed 15 significantly altered metabolites, primarily lipids, organic acids, and benzenoids, some of which correlated with gut microbial features. This study highlights the interplay between the gut microbiota and depression, paving the way for future research to determine whether gut microbiota influences depression pathophysiology or reflects changes associated with depression.
ISSN:2055-5008