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Dopamine, beyond its classic role as a neurotransmitter, regulates gastrointestinal motility, secretion, barrier homeostasis, and mucosal immunity. Specialized microbial enzymes enable gut microbiota to metabolize intestinal dopamine, competing with host processes, shifting dopaminergic tone, and degrading orally administered levodopa (L-DOPA), which helps explain variability in Parkinson’s disease treatment response.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/dopamine-and-the-gut-microbiota-interactions-within-the-microbiota-gut-brain-axis-and-therapeutic-perspectives/465493/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/dopamine-and-the-gut-microbiota-interactions-within-the-microbiota-gut-brain-axis-and-therapeutic-perspectives/465493.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"\tCallum ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-07","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What pathways make up the microbiota–gut–brain axis (MGBA)?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"MGBA is a bidirectional communication network linking neural, immune, metabolic, and endocrine pathways.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does gut microbiota affect dopamine and levodopa (L-DOPA) in the GI tract?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Gut microbes use specialized enzymatic pathways to metabolize dopamine and convert L-DOPA through reactions that can alter L-DOPA pharmacokinetics and dopaminergic signaling.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why is Parkinson’s disease (PD) emphasized in this review?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"PD provides the clearest clinical context, because dysbiosis patterns correlate with GI dysfunction and variable L-DOPA response.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},465493,1790952381,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},137451211410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000bb0a9246f588df?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786362646172706240","Review  \nDopamine and the Gut Microbiota: Interactions Within the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis and Therapeutic Perspectives  \nAurelia Cristiana Barbu 1,†, Smaranda Stoleru 1,†, Aurelian Zugravu 1,*, Elena Poenaru 1, *, Adrian Dragomir 1, Mihnea Costescu 1, Sorina Maria Aurelian 1, Yara Shhab 1, Clara Maria Stoleru 2, Oana Andreia Coman 1 and Ion Fulga 1  \nAcademic Editor: Andreas Burkovski  \nReceived: 20 November 2025  \nRevised: 16 December 2025  \nAccepted: 18 December 2025  \nPublished: 26 December 2025  \nCopyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.  \n1 Faculty of Medicine,“Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania; [aurelia-cristiana.barbu@drd.umfcd.ro](aurelia-cristiana.barbu@drd.umfcd.ro) (A.C.B.); [smaranda.stoleru@umfcd.ro](smaranda.stoleru@umfcd.ro) (S.S.); [oana.coman@umfcd.ro](oana.coman@umfcd.ro) (O.A.C.)  \n2 Faculty of Medical Engineering, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania; [clara.stoleru@gmail.com](clara.stoleru@gmail.com)  \n* Correspondence: [aurelian.zugravu@umfcd.ro](aurelian.zugravu@umfcd.ro) (A.Z.); [elena.poenaru@umfcd.ro](elena.poenaru@umfcd.ro) (E.P.)† These authors contributed equally to this work.  \nAbstract  \nThe microbiota–gut–brain axis (MGBA) comprises a complex bidirectional communication network integrating neural, immune, metabolic, and endocrine pathways. Dopamine, traditionally viewed as a central neurotransmitter, also plays essential roles in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, where it regulates motility, secretion, barrier homeostasis, and mucosal immunity. Growing evidence indicates that the gut microbiota significantly contributes to intestinal dopamine metabolism through specialized enzymatic pathways, particularly tyrosine decarboxylase in Enterococcus species and catechol dehydroxylase in Eggerthella species. These microbial reactions compete with host processes, alter dopaminergic tone, and degrade orally administered levodopa (L-DOPA), providing a mechanistic explanation for the variability in treatment response in Parkinson’s disease (PD) . Beyond PD, microbially mediated alterations in dopaminergic signaling have been implicated in mood disorders, neurodevelopmental conditions, metabolic dysfunction, and immune-mediated diseases. This review synthesizes current mechanistic and translational evidence on the dopamine–microbiota interface, outlines microbial pathways shaping dopaminergic activity, and highlights therapeutic opportunities including microbiota modulation, dietary strategies, fecal microbiota transplantation, and targeted inhibitors of microbial dopamine metabolism. Understanding this interface offers a foundation for developing personalized approaches in neurogastroenterology and neuromodulatory therapies.  \nKeywords: dopamine; gut microbiota; microbiota–gut–brain axis; Parkinson’s disease; L-DOPA; neurogastroenterology  \n1. Introduction  \nThe microbiota–gut–brain axis (MGBA) is a key framework for understanding how intestinal microbes influence neural, immune, and metabolic pathways that shape brain function. Among its molecular mediators, neurotransmitters have a central role. While serotonin and GABA have been extensively studied, dopamine remains comparatively underexplored despite its relevance to reward, motivation, and motor control [1–3] .  \nA substantial fraction of peripheral dopamine is generated in the gastrointestinal tract. Enterochromaffin cells and enteric neurons synthesize dopamine locally, regulating  \nmotility, epithelial barrier function, secretion, and immune responses. Although peripheral dopamine does not cross the blood–brain barrier, it can influence central activity indirectly through vagal, immune, endocrine, and metabolic routes, positioning the gut as an important dopaminergic hub [4,5] .  \nA major ","cbCaihvVIyAQRxqc","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihvVIyAQRxqc","pdf",573525,13,"English","# Abstract\n# 1. Introduction\n# 2. Methods\n# 3. Dopamine in the Gastrointestinal Tract","[{\"question\":\"What pathways make up the microbiota–gut–brain axis (MGBA)?\",\"answer\":\"MGBA is a bidirectional communication network linking neural, immune, metabolic, and endocrine pathways.\"},{\"question\":\"How does gut microbiota affect dopamine and levodopa (L-DOPA) in the GI tract?\",\"answer\":\"Gut microbes use specialized enzymatic pathways to metabolize dopamine and convert L-DOPA through reactions that can alter L-DOPA pharmacokinetics and dopaminergic signaling.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is Parkinson’s disease (PD) emphasized in this review?\",\"answer\":\"PD provides the clearest clinical context, because dysbiosis patterns correlate with GI dysfunction and variable L-DOPA response.\"}]","Dopamine and the Gut Microbiota: Interactions Within the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis and Therapeutic Perspectives | PDF",1790769686,33]