The influence of the host microbiome on 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-induced hyperthermia and vice versa
Scientific Reports March 13, 2019 Emily Ridge, Sudhan Pachhain, S. Choudhury et al. 25 citations
The gut microbiome and TGR5 bile acid receptors contribute to the life-threatening hyperthermia caused by MDMA. Male rats given antibiotics to reduce gut bacteria showed a weaker hyperthermic response to MDMA. MDMA increased expression of uncoupling protein 1 and TGR5 in brown adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, and UCP3 in skeletal muscle; antibiotics blunted these increases. Blocking TGR5 with triamterene or deiodinase II with iopanoic acid also reduced MDMA-induced hyperthermia. MDMA enriched a Proteus mirabilis strain in the ceca of rats not given antibiotics. The findings suggest gut microbiota play a role in MDMA-mediated hyperthermia and that MDMA rapidly alters gut microbiome composition.