Nervous system-gut microbiota-immune system axis: Future directions for preventing tumor

Juan Juan Wang ¹ Wenyue Cheng ¹ Rongcun Yang ^1,2*

• ¹ Nankai University, Tianjin, China
• ² School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

Tumor is one of the leading causes of individual death worldwide. The occurrence and development of tumor are related to multiple systems and factors such as immune system, gut microbiota and also nervous system. Immune system plays a critical role in the tumor development. Studies have also found that gut microbiota can directly or indirectly affect the tumorigenesis and tumor development. With increasing attention on the tumor microenvironment in recent years, the nervous system has emerged as a novel regulator of tumor development. Some tumor therapies based on the nervous system have also been tested in clinical trials.However, the nervous system can not only directly interact with tumor cells but also indirectly affect tumor development through gut microbiota. Nervous system mediated gut microbiota can regulate tumorigenesis, growth, invasion and metastasis through immune system. We here mainly explore the potential effects of nervous system-gut microbiota-immune system axis on the tumorigenesis and tumor development. The effects of nervous system-gut microbiota-immune system axis on tumor refer to that nervous system regulates immune cells through gut microbiota, which can prevent tumor development. Meanwhile the direct effects of gut microbiota on tumor and regulation in immune system by nervous system, which can affect tumor development, are also reviewed.