Overview
- Tufts researchers found that colonizing mice with Candida albicans raised circulating prostaglandin E2 and lowered voluntary ethanol intake.
- Injecting a PGE2 derivative into uncolonized mice reduced drinking, while blocking PGE2 receptors restored alcohol consumption in colonized animals.
- Circulating PGE2 tracked with brain expression of its receptors and dopamine receptor genes in the dorsal striatum only in colonized mice.
- Colonized mice exhibited greater sensitivity to alcohol’s motor‑depressant effects, and PGE2 receptor antagonists improved coordination.
- Published Oct. 16 in mBio, the work outlines a fungus–PGE2–brain pathway with potential relevance to alcohol use disorder, though translation to humans remains unproven.