Scientists from Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Barcelona, Spain, have actually discovered the function of an amino acid in anxiety in humans, mice, and flies. It is proline, an amino acid found in a broad range of foods such as gelatin, grass-fed beef, and wild-caught fish. The findings, published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism, also connect a proline-rich diet to an increased risk of developing anxiety.
Dr. José Manuel Fernández-Real and Dr. Jordi Mayneris-Perxachs from the IDIBGI and CIBEROBN research groups on Nutrition, Eumetabolism, and Health led the research study, as did Dr. Rafael Maldonado from the Pompeu Fabra University Neuropharmacology-Neurophar research study group, which is affiliated with the Hospital de la Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM).
Dr. Rafael Maldonado, Neuropharmacology-Neurophar research study group Credit: UPF
“We were amazed that what was most associated with anxiety, examined through this questionnaire, was the intake of proline,” says Dr. Fernández-Real, of the IDIBGI, and also head of the Endocrinology Section at Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta in Girona and director of the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Girona. Verifying this, when plasma metabolomics was evaluated, the concentration of proline emerged as one of the metabolites most associated with indicators of depression.
Proline levels, depending on the microbiota
When studying these individualss digestive microbiota, a relationship was also observed between depression and germs, as well as in between anxiety and bacterial genes associated with proline metabolism. “The microbiota of patients with high proline consumption but low plasma levels of proline was comparable to the microbiota associated with low levels of depression and was enhanced in bacterial genes involved in the transportation and metabolism of proline”, states Dr. Mayneris-Perxachs, a Miguel Servet scientist at the IDIBGI
To discover out if the presence of proline was a cause or a consequence of depressive state of mind, individuals microbiota was transplanted into mice. “The possibility of transferring the anxiety phenotype from humans to mice through microbiota transplantation and the demonstration that such hair transplant creates changes in proline transportation reveals that this proline may be associated causally with anxiety”, discusses Dr. Maldonado, of UPF.
The researchers isolated 2 types of bacteria from the microbiota associated with proline intake and added them to the flies sanitized feed. Flies that ingested food with Lactobacillus, which in mice was associated with less depression, showed they were more prepared to conquer troubles they dealt with later.
The exact same experiment was performed on genetically modified flies to remove the channels that bring proline to the brain. In this case, the proline was not able to reach the brain, and the flies proved to be extremely resistant to depression.
Dr. José Manuel Fernández-Real and Dr. Jordi Mayneris-Perxachs, from the research group on Nutrition, Eumetabolism and Health at the IDIBGI and CIBEROBN. Credit: IDIBGI.
The importance of proline in future treatments
” These results show the importance of proline and its influence on individualss depressive state of mind, which so far had actually not been taken into account,” highlights Dr. Fernández-Real. The study likewise opens the method for new studies to discover possible diet-based treatments for anxiety.
This research study has also delighted in the cooperation of researchers from the FISABIO Foundation, the Lleida Biomedical Research Institute (IRBLleida), and the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio) of the University of Valencia and the CSIC.
Referral: “Microbiota modifications in proline metabolic process impact depression” by Jordi Mayneris-Perxachs, Anna Castells-Nobau, María Arnoriaga-Rodríguez, Miquel Martin, Lisset de la Vega-Correa, Cristina Zapata, Aurelijus Burokas, Gerard Blasco, Clàudia Coll, Anira Escrichs, Carles Biarnés, José María Moreno-Navarrete, Josep Puig, Josep Garre-Olmo, Rafel Ramos, Salvador Pedraza, Ramón Brugada, Joan Carles Vilanova, Joaquín Serena, Jordi Gich, Lluís Ramió-Torrentà, Vicente Pérez-Brocal, Andrés Moya, Reinald Pamplona, Joaquim Sol, Mariona Jové, Wifredo Ricart, Manuel Portero-Otin, Gustavo Deco, Rafael Maldonado and José Manuel Fernández-Real, 3 May 2022, Cell Metabolism. DOI: 10.1016/ j.cmet.2022.04.001.
A brand-new study confirms the link between an amino acid present in diet and anxiety.
A new study shows, in humans, mice, and flies, that raised plasma levels and a diet rich in the amino acid proline cause a more serious state of anxiety.
When an individual consumes food containing protein, the protein is broken down into amino acids by the gastrointestinal system. There are 20 various amino acids, of which 9 are thought about essential amino acids because they can not be made by the body and needs to come from food.
Newly launched research study confirms the link in between a particular amino acid called proline and depression. Proline is an inessential amino acid and is discovered in grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, gelatin, bone broth, organ meats like liver, and cage-free egg yolks. According to the research study, a diet plan rich in proline is linked to an increased risk of depression.
Freshly released research validates the link between a specific amino acid called proline and anxiety. “We were shocked that what was most associated with anxiety, assessed through this survey, was the intake of proline,” states Dr. Fernández-Real, of the IDIBGI, and likewise head of the Endocrinology Section at Hospital Dr. Josep Trueta in Girona and director of the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Girona. When studying these individualss digestive tract microbiota, a relationship was likewise observed between anxiety and bacteria, as well as between depression and bacterial genes associated with proline metabolic process. “The microbiota of patients with high proline intake but low plasma levels of proline was similar to the microbiota associated with low levels of depression and was enhanced in bacterial genes included in the transport and metabolic process of proline”, states Dr. Mayneris-Perxachs, a Miguel Servet researcher at the IDIBGI
“The possibility of transferring the depression phenotype from people to mice through microbiota transplant and the presentation that such transplant generates alterations in proline transportation exposes that this proline may be associated causally with depression”, discusses Dr. Maldonado, of UPF.