Microbial metabolite steers intestinal stem cell fate under stress.

Zhu, Shu; Pan, Wen · Cell Stem Cell · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Recently in Cell Metabolism, Wei et al.<sup>1</sup> unveiled a brain-to-gut pathway that conveys psychological stress to intestinal epithelial cells, leading to their dysfunction. This gut-brain axis involves a microbial metabolite, indole-3-acetate (IAA), as a niche signal that hampers mitochondrial respiration to skew intestinal stem cell (ISC) fate.

Medical subject headings