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Regulating inflammation with microbial metabolites

Two new studies in mice show that the gut microbiota produces metabolites from dietary tryptophan that regulate inflammation in the gut and central nervous system.

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Figure 1: Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is a common constituent of protein-based foods (for example, eggs, fish, meat and cheese).

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Acknowledgements

B.J.M. is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant 310030-166210.

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Correspondence to Benjamin J Marsland.

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Marsland, B. Regulating inflammation with microbial metabolites. Nat Med 22, 581–583 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.4117

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