Bugs take the sting out

Arren J Liu; Jonathan B Lynch

doi:10.1016/j.chom.2024.12.008

Bugs take the sting out

Cell Host Microbe. 2025 Jan 8;33(1):15-16. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.12.008.

Authors

Arren J Liu¹, Jonathan B Lynch²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
² Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39788094
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2024.12.008

Abstract

Jiang et al. investigate the role of the microbiota in postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a chronic pain condition resulting from varicella-zoster virus reactivation. They identify microbiome alterations in PHN patients, linking microbes and pain sensitivity. The researchers identify butyrate-producing Roseburia intestinalis as a mediator of pain sensitivity along the "gut-brain axis."

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain-Gut Axis / physiology
Butyrates / metabolism
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Herpesvirus 3, Human / physiology
Humans
Neuralgia, Postherpetic* / virology

Substances

Butyrates