The University of Miami Office of Research Administration - School of Medicine Division is receiving a $549,140 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242). This 5-year project aims to determine the role of the bacterial communication molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2) in mediating the mammalian stress response and stress-related behaviors. Key research activities include: 1) Investigating how stress signals regulate AI-2 production by gut bacteria, 2) Assessing the contribution of bacterial AI-2 to stress-related behaviors using engineered E. coli, and 3) Analyzing the downstream effects of bacterial AI-2 on neurobiological factors like Th17 cells, microglia, and dendritic spine density. This work may uncover AI-2 as a novel signal in the gut-brain axis that controls the stress response, potentially leading to new microbiome-based therapeutic strategies for stress-related disorders.
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