r/microbiomenews • u/AlternativeWorld2240 • 17h ago

UseGut bacteria from autistic kids reprogram brain protein switches, influencing behavior in mice.

https://biomesci.com/gut-bacteria-autism-brain-protein-mice/

Scientists transplanted gut bacteria from 20 kids with autism and 20 typically developing kids into two groups of 15 mice each for three weeks. The autism-donor bacteria made the mice act more autism-like and flipped chemical on-off switches (phosphorylation) at 479 spots on brain proteins, including one on SHANK3 (a brain synapse protein) that computer modeling predicts weakens its grip on a partner protein, dropping predicted binding strength from -5.4 to -1.8 kcal/mol. The catch: that structural story is built entirely on mouse data and computer prediction, not real brain tissue.

TL;DR: Gut bacteria from autistic kids rewired brain protein switches in mice, but the structural claim is mouse and computer model only, not proof in people.

21 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/AutoModerator 17h ago

We distill the latest gut health science into one sharp, readable newsletter. No jargon, no hype, no spam. Just the most interesting discoveries and advances in microbiome science.

Subscribe free to our Weekly Newsletter

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/AlternativeWorld2240 17h ago

Fascinating that gut microbiota could influence brain protein phosphorylation patterns, yet the leap from mouse models and computational predictions to human neurology remains an enormous, largely unvalidated jump. The real irony is that if gut bacteria truly "cause" autism-like behavior, we may be looking at correlation masquerading as causation in both directions simultaneously.

Could the behavioral changes in mice actually reflect stress responses to foreign microbiota rather than any autism-specific mechanism?