Tryptophan Metabolism and Aryl-Hydrocarbon Receptor Agonists in The Gut Microbiome of People With Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

MicrobiologyOpen  ·  2026

David J Esteban; Brynn Conrad; Autumn Cullinan; Sharon Luong; Jason Albaum; Victoria Wilk;

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ABSTRACT

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic disease with unknown biological basis and no cure. Microbiome dysbiosis has been reported in people with ME/CFS but its relevance to pathophysiology is unknown. Gut microbes are an important source of tryptophan metabolites that activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), a regulator of homeostatic and inflammatory genes. Dysregulated activation of AHR contributes to pathophysiology of several neuroimmune and chronic diseases but its role in ME/CFS has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the production of tryptophan metabolites and AHR agonists by gut microbes of people with ME/CFS. We found lower diversity and altered microbiome community structure in people with ME/CFS and changes in the subcommunity of microbes that correlated with tryptophan metabolites. Using targeted metabolomics we identified nine metabolites elevated in the stool of people with ME/CFS, including three AHR agonists. Stool ex vivo cultures were tested for their capacity to activate AHR in a reporter cell line and by qPCR. AHR activation did not differ between people with ME/CFS and controls, however, we detected elevated agonist activity in people with neurocognitive symptoms, regardless of underlying disease. These findings are consistent with previous work revealing changes in the gut microbiome of people with ME/CFS and adds further support to alterations in tryptophan metabolism associated with the disease. Altered AHR activity by gut microbial metabolites may be a common mechanism contributing to neurocognitive symptoms in diseases including ME/CFS.

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