Gut microbiome-derived ammonia modulates stress vulnerability in the host

Ammonia has been long recognized as a metabolic waste product with well-known neurotoxic effects. However, little is known about the beneficial function of endogenous ammonia. Here, we show that gut ammonia links microbe nitrogen metabolism to host stress vulnerability by maintaining brain glutamine availability in male mice. Chronic stress decreases blood ammonia levels by altering gut urease-positive microbiota. A representative urease-producing strain, Streptococcus thermophilus, can reverse depression-like behaviours induced by gut microbiota that was altered by stress, whereas pharmacological inhibition of gut ammonia production increases stress vulnerability. Notably, abnormally low blood ammonia levels limit the brain’s availability of glutamine, a key metabolite produced by astrocytes that is required for presynaptic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) replenishment and confers stress vulnerability through cortical GABAergic dysfunction. Of therapeutic interest, ammonium chloride (NH4Cl), a commonly used expectorant in the clinic, can rescue behavioural abnormalities and GABAergic deficits in mouse models of depression. In sum, ammonia produced by the gut microbiome can help buffer stress in the host, providing a gut–brain signalling basis for emotional behaviour.