Methamphetamine (METH) is an illicit stimulant that is in widespread use worldwide. Repeated intake of METH can lead to addiction and multiple-organ damage, which has become a globalized problem. However, the mechanism of METH toxicity remains unclear. The gut and oral microbiota and their metabolites have an impact on host behavior, metabolism, nutrition, and immune response. The available research find that METH not only disrupts the intestinal microbiota, but also alters the metabolites produced by the intestinal microbiota, such as reducing the levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), indole derivatives and inosine, and increasing the levels of trimethylamine N-oxide and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The gut microbiota and their metabolites can participate in mediating METH-induced multi-organ toxicity via the intestinal immune interface and the gut-organ axis, thereby regulating processes such as oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, and mitochondrial damage. Concurrently, therapeutic approaches targeting the affected gut microbiota (including probiotic, microbiota transplantation, SCFAs, and indole derivatives) have also been demonstrated to effectively mitigate damage caused by METH abuse. The objective of this review is to establish a link between METH and the microbiota from the gut and oral cavity, based on the available evidence, to gain insight into the potential bidirectional roles of the gut and oral microbiota in METH addiction and METH-related multi-organ toxicity, and to develop future therapeutic strategies.
Rong et al. (Thu,) studied this question.