Gut Fungus Linked to Altered Alcohol Desire in New Research
A recent study has revealed a surprising connection between โthe gut โคmicrobiome, specifically the fungus Candida albicans, and the brain’s dopamine reward โpathway,โค perhaps impacting alcohol desire. Published in the journal mBio on โคOctober 16, 2025, the research, โฃconducted โฃat Tufts University, demonstrates how an overgrowth of C. albicans in mice influences levels โof theโข inflammatory molecule PGE2, ultimately affecting their preference for โalcohol.
C.โ albicans is โa fungus that naturally lives in the โฃhuman gut, but its populations can โคincreaseโข due to factors likeโ antibiotic โฃuse, poor diet, or alcohol consumption. Asโฃ the fungus blooms, itโข both produces and stimulates the production of PGE2 (prostaglandin E2), a moleculeโค involved in inflammation,โข stomach acid regulation, and fever response.
The study found thatโ PGE2 can cross the blood-brain barrier and alter dopamine signaling in the dorsalโข striatum, aโค brainโข region crucial for reward processing and habitโฃ formation. Interestingly, researchers initially hypothesized that increased C. โฃalbicans colonization would increase the rewarding effects of alcohol and lead to greater consumption. However,โ the results showed the opposite: โmice with higher levels of C. albicans and PGE2 actually avoided alcohol. blocking PGE2 receptor molecules reversed this behavior, โrestoring the mice’s alcohol โขconsumption.
“Ourโ study shows how science works-our initial โขideas were very wrong,” explained Andrew โคDay, theโข study’s โfirst author, whoโ completed โคthe research as a PhD โstudent in the molecular โmicrobiology program at the Graduate School of Biomedicalโค Sciences. “This couldโ be โexplained by differencesโ in how mice โrespond toโ C.โฃ albicans comparedโค toโฃ humans,โ differences in fungalโข strains, or โคwe might be seeing a small snapshotโค of the entire โstory.”
the research also โindicated that mice with C. โคalbicans overgrowth exhibited increased โขsensitivity to alcohol’s effects on motor coordination, โคan effect also reversible by โblocking PGE2 activity.
Senior author Carol Kumamoto, a professor of molecular biology and microbiology at the School ofโฃ Medicine,โฃ emphasized the โฃbroader implications of the findings.โค “Ourโข bodies are wired so that our behavior responds to gut โฃmicrobiota,and this study highlights that fungi are significant components of the gut-brain โaxis,” sheโค stated.”Weโ think fungal โcolonization โlevelsโ in individualsโ with alcohol use โdisorder could be impacting host alcohol consumption by influencing interest in drinking-whether it’s affecting how rewarding โa drink might potentially be is more โคofโ an interpretation.”
Alcohol use disorder affects over 5% of adults โฃworldwide โand is characterizedโข by an inability toโค control โขalcohol consumption despite โขnegative consequences. Current treatments, including therapy, โsupport groups, and medication, have moderate effectiveness and โfrequently enough see high relapse rates.
The findings suggest that further examination into the โขrole of โขfungi and PGE2 โฃcould reveal new avenues for addressing โขalcohol use disorder. Clinical โฃtrials exploring fecalโฃ microbiota transplants โฃfor the disorder have already begun,โ with early results showing potential โbenefits for alcohol preference and consumption.
Source: Tufts University (https://now.tufts.edu/2025/10/16/gut-microbiome-affects-alcohol-preference-influencing-brains-reward-system)
