Microbial regulation of stress-associated signaling molecules and its role in health and disease

It has become increasingly appreciated that gut microbes influence host stress hormone responses through direct and indirect mechanisms. These relationships may have broad implications on hormone bioavailability, receptor signaling, and stress resilience. In this review, we summarize current evidence for microbe-stress factor interactions and their consequences for host physiology. We further examine how microbiota-stress crosstalk may contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, highlighting emerging mechanisms and potential microbiota-targeted therapies.