Electroacupuncture remodels gut microbiota and metabolites in mice with perioperative neurocognitive impairment.

Gut microbiota and metabolites are considered key factors in the pathogenesis of perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND), and the brain-gut axis may be a promising target for PND treatment. Electroacupuncture has been shown to improve a wide range of neurological disorders and to restore function to the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, we hypothesized whether electroacupuncture could remodel gut microbiota and neuroinflammation induced by anesthesia/surgery. First, we observed electroacupuncture at acupoints GV20, LI4 and PC6 significantly improved memory in behavioral tests. Next, we found electroacupuncture decreased the levels of inflammatory factors (NSE, S-100ß, IL-6, etc.) in the hippocampus, indicating that nerve inflammation was blocked by electroacupuncture. Furthermore, via 16S rRNA sequence analysis and LC-MS analysis, the gut microbiota and its metabolites were appropriately restored after electroacupuncture treatment. Additionally, we further confirmed the restorative effect of electroacupuncture on PND by fecal transplantation. In conclusion, the role of electroacupuncture in improving cognitive function and protecting neurons may be related to the modulation of gut microbiota and their metabolite dysregulation, thereby inhibiting neuroinflammation in PND mice.

Propionic acid promotes neurite recovery in damaged multiple sclerosis neurons.

Neurodegeneration in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis still poses a major therapeutic challenge. Effective drugs that target the inflammation can only partially reduce accumulation of neurological deficits and conversion to progressive disease forms. Diet and the associated gut microbiome are currently being discussed as crucial environmental risk factors that determine disease onset and subsequent progression. In people with multiple sclerosis, supplementation of the short-chain fatty acid propionic acid, as a microbial metabolite derived from the fermentation of a high-fiber diet, has previously been shown to regulate inflammation accompanied by neuroprotective properties. We set out to determine whether the neuroprotective impact of propionic acid is a direct mode of action of short-chain fatty acids on CNS neurons. We analysed neurite recovery in the presence of the short-chain fatty acid propionic acid and butyric acid in a reverse-translational disease-in-a-dish model of human-induced primary neurons differentiated from people with multiple sclerosis-derived induced pluripotent stem cells. We found that recovery of damaged neurites is induced by propionic acid and butyric acid. We could also show that administration of butyric acid is able to enhance propionic acid-associated neurite recovery. Whole-cell proteome analysis of induced primary neurons following recovery in the presence of propionic acid revealed abundant changes of protein groups that are associated with the chromatin assembly, translational, and metabolic processes. We further present evidence that these alterations in the chromatin assembly were associated with inhibition of histone deacetylase class I/II following both propionic acid and butyric acid treatment, mediated by free fatty acid receptor signalling. While neurite recovery in the presence of propionic acid is promoted by activation of the anti-oxidative response, administration of butyric acid increases neuronal ATP synthesis in people with multiple sclerosis-specific induced primary neurons.

High-fat diet, microbiome-gut-brain axis signaling, and anxiety-like behavior in male rats.

Obesity, associated with the intake of a high-fat diet (HFD), and anxiety are common among those living in modern urban societies. Recent studies suggest a role of microbiome-gut-brain axis signaling, including a role for brain serotonergic systems in the relationship between HFD and anxiety. Evidence suggests the gut microbiome and the serotonergic brain system together may play an important role in this response. Here we conducted a nine-week HFD protocol in male rats, followed by an analysis of the gut microbiome diversity and community composition, brainstem serotonergic gene expression (tph2, htr1a, and slc6a4), and anxiety-related defensive behavioral responses. We show that HFD intake decreased alpha diversity and altered the community composition of the gut microbiome in association with obesity, increased brainstem tph2, htr1a and slc6a4 mRNA expression, including in the caudal part of the dorsomedial dorsal raphe nucleus (cDRD), a subregion previously associated with stress- and anxiety-related behavioral responses, and, finally, increased anxiety-related defensive behavioral responses. The HFD increased the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio relative to control diet, as well as higher relative abundances of Blautia, and decreases in Prevotella. We found that tph2, htr1a and slc6a4 mRNA expression were increased in subregions of the dorsal raphe nucleus in the HFD, relative to control diet. Specific bacterial taxa were associated with increased serotonergic gene expression in the cDRD. Thus, we propose that HFD-induced obesity is associated with altered microbiome-gut-serotonergic brain axis signaling, leading to increased anxiety-related defensive behavioral responses in rats.

Antibiotic-altered gut microbiota explain host memory plasticity and disrupt pace-of-life covariation for an aquatic snail.

There is mounting evidence that intestinal microbiota communities and their genes (the gut microbiome) influence how animals behave and interact with their environment, driving individual variation. Individual covariation in behavioural, physiological, and cognitive traits among individuals along a fast-slow continuum is thought to arise because these traits are linked as part of an adaptive pace-of-life strategy. Yet paradoxically, trait intercorrelation is absent or disrupted in some populations but not others. Here, we provide experimental evidence from aquatic pond snails (Lymnaea stagnalis) that environmental stressors and the gut microbiota explain host phenotypic plasticity and disrupted covariation among traits. Antibiotic exposure at varying levels of ecologically relevant concentrations had multiple effects starting with gut microbiota diversity, differential abundance, and inferred function. Memory declined in line with antibiotic concentrations that caused the most profound gut microbiota disruption, and although pace-of-life traits remained rigid, their covariation did not. Moreover, inferred microbial metabolic pathways with biologically relevant host functions explained individual and treatment variation in phenotypes. Together, our results point to the gut microbiome as a proximate mechanism influencing the emergence and maintenance of phenotypic variation within populations and highlights the need to decipher whether the gut microbiome's sensitivity to environmental pollution facilitates adaptive or maladaptive phenotypic plasticity.

Serum Amyloid A3 Fuels a Feed-Forward Inflammatory Response to the Bacterial Amyloid Curli in the Enteric Nervous System.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Mounting evidence suggests the gastrointestinal microbiome is a determinant of peripheral immunity and central neurodegeneration, but the local disease mechanisms remain unknown. Given its potential relevance for early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention, we set out to map the pathogenic changes induced by bacterial amyloids in the gastrointestinal tract and its enteric nervous system. METHODS: To examine the early response, we challenged primary murine myenteric networks with curli, the prototypical bacterial amyloid, and performed shotgun RNA sequencing and multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Using enteric neurosphere-derived glial and neuronal cell cultures, as well as in vivo curli injections into the colon wall, we further scrutinized curli-induced pathogenic pathways. RESULTS: Curli induced a proinflammatory response, with strong up-regulation of Saa3 and the secretion of several cytokines. This proinflammatory state was induced primarily in enteric glia, was accompanied by increased levels of DNA damage and replication, and triggered the influx of immune cells in vivo. The addition of recombinant Serum Amyloid A3 (SAA3) was sufficient to recapitulate this specific proinflammatory phenotype while Saa3 knock-out attenuated curli-induced DNA damage and replication. Similar to curli, recombinant SAA3 caused a strong up-regulation of Saa3 transcripts, illustrating its self-amplifying potential . Since colonization of curli-producing Salmonella and dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis triggered a significant increase in Saa3 transcripts as well, we assume SAA3plays a central role in enteric dysfunction. Inhibition of dual leucine zipper kinase, an upstream regulator of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway responsible for SAA3 production, attenuated curli- and recombinant SAA3-induced Saa3 up-regulation, DNA damage, and replication in enteric glia. CONCLUSIONS: Our results position SAA3 as an important mediator of gastrointestinal vulnerability to bacterial-derived amyloids and demonstrate the potential of dual leucine zipper kinase inhibition to dampen enteric pathology.

The Gut Microbiome in the First One Thousand Days of Neurodevelopment: A Systematic Review from the Microbiome Perspective.

Evidence shows that the gut microbiome in early life is an essential modulator of physiological processes related to healthy brain development, as well as mental and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we conduct a systematic review of gut microbiome assessments on infants (both healthy and with conditions that affect brain development) during the first thousand days of life, associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes, with the aim of investigating key microbiome players and mechanisms through which the gut microbiome affects the brain. Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium were associated with non-social fear behavior, duration of orientation, cognitive and motricity development, and neurotypical brain development. Lachnospiraceae, Streptococcus, and Faecalibacterium showed variable levels of influence on behavior and brain development. Few studies described mechanistic insights related to NAD salvage, aspartate and asparagine biosynthesis, methanogenesis, pathways involved in bile acid transformation, short-chain fatty acids production, and microbial virulence genes. Further studies associating species to gene pathways and robustness in data analysis and integration are required to elucidate the functional mechanisms underlying the role of microbiome-gut-brain axis in early brain development.

Relationships among the gut microbiome, brain networks, and symptom severity in schizophrenia patients: A mediation analysis.

The microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA) plays a critical role in schizophrenia (SZ). However, the underlying mechanisms of the interactions among the gut microbiome, brain networks, and symptom severity in SZ patients remain largely unknown. Fecal samples, structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores were collected from 38 SZ patients and 38 normal controls, respectively. The data of 16S rRNA gene sequencing were used to analyze the abundance of gut microbiome and the analysis of human brain networks was applied to compute the nodal properties of 90 brain regions. A total of 1,691,280 mediation models were constructed based on 261 gut bacterial, 810 nodal properties, and 4 PANSS scores in SZ patients. A strong correlation between the gut microbiome and brain networks (r = 0.89, false discovery rate (FDR) -corrected p < 0.05) was identified. Importantly, the PANSS scores were linearly correlated with both the gut microbiome (r = 0.5, FDR-corrected p < 0.05) and brain networks (r = 0.59, FDR-corrected p < 0.05). The abundance of genus Sellimonas significantly affected the PANSS negative scores of SZ patients via the betweenness centrality of white matter networks in the inferior frontal gyrus and amygdala. Moreover, 19 significant mediation models demonstrated that the nodal properties of 7 brain regions, predominately from the systems of visual, language, and control of action, showed significant mediating effects on the PANSS scores with the gut microbiome as mediators. Together, our findings indicated the tripartite relationships among the gut microbiome, brain networks, and PANSS scores and suggested their potential role in the neuropathology of SZ.

BDNF/CREB signaling pathway contribution in depression pathogenesis: A survey on the non-pharmacological therapeutic opportunities for gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Emerging evidence supports the gut microbiota and the brain communication in general health. This axis may affect behavior through modulating neurotransmission, and thereby involve in the pathogenesis and/or progression of different neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cAMP response element-binding protein known as CREB/BDNF pathway plays have critical functions in the pathogenesis of depression as the same of mechanisms related to antidepressants. However, the putative causal significance of the CREB/BDNF signaling cascade in the gut-brain axis in depression remains unknown. Also interventions such as probiotics supplementation and exercise can influence microbiome also improve bidirectional communication of gut and brain. In this review we aim to explain the BDNF/CREB signaling pathway and gut microbiota dysfunction and then evaluate the potential role of probiotics, prebiotics, and exercise as a therapeutic target in the gut microbiota dysfunction induced depression. The current narrative review will specifically focus on the impact of exercise and diet on the intestinal microbiota component, as well as the effect that these therapies may have on the microbiota to alleviate depressive symptoms. Finally, we look at how BDNF/CREB signaling pathway may exert distinct effects on depression and gut microbiota dysfunction.

Crosstalk between gut microbiome and neuroinflammation in pathogenesis of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) has become a chronic neurodegenerative disease affecting the quality of life in people living with HIV (PLWH). Despite an established association between HAND and neuroinflammation induced by HIV proteins (gp120, Tat, Rev., Nef, and Vpr), the pathogenesis of HAND remains to be fully elucidated. Accumulating evidence demonstrated that the gut microbiome is emerging as a critical regulator of various neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease), suggesting that the crosstalk between the gut microbiome and neuroinflammation may contribute to the development of these diseases, for example, gut dysbiosis and microbiota-derived metabolites can trigger inflammation in the brain. However, the potential role of the gut microbiome in the pathogenesis of HAND remains largely unexplored. In this review, we aim to discuss and elucidate the HAND pathogenesis correlated with gut microbiome and neuroinflammation, and intend to explore the probable intervention strategies for HAND.

Confounder or Confederate? The Interactions Between Drugs and the Gut Microbiome in Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases.

The gut microbiome is emerging as an important factor in signaling along the gut-brain axis. The intimate physiological connection between the gut and the brain allows perturbations in the microbiome to be directly transmitted to the central nervous system and thereby contribute to psychiatric and neurological diseases. Common microbiome perturbations result from the ingestion of xenobiotic compounds including pharmaceuticals such as psychotropic drugs. In recent years, a variety of interactions between these drug classes and the gut microbiome have been reported, ranging from direct inhibitory effects on gut bacteria to microbiome-mediated drug degradation or sequestration. Consequently, the microbiome may play a critical role in influencing the intensity, duration, and onset of therapeutic effects, as well as in influencing the side effects that patients may experience. Furthermore, because the composition of the microbiome varies from person to person, the microbiome may contribute to the frequently observed interpersonal differences in the response to these drugs. In this review, we first summarize the known interactions between xenobiotics and the gut microbiome. Then, for psychopharmaceuticals, we address the question of whether these interactions with gut bacteria are irrelevant for the host (i.e., merely confounding factors in metagenomic analyses) or whether they may even have therapeutic or adverse effects.

Gut microbiota from essential tremor patients aggravates tremors in mice.

Background and objective: Essential tremor (ET) lacks effective treatments because its underlying mechanism is largely unknown, but may involve gut microbiota via the microbiome-gut-brain axis. We explored the effects of gut microbiota on ET in mice. Methods: Specific pathogen-free C57BL/6J mice were gavaged with stools from ET patients or matched healthy individuals. After 3 weeks of gavaging, behavioral tests were performed on all mice. Next, each mouse was injected with harmaline to induce tremors. The tremor duration was recorded; the tremor score was estimated every 30 min. Behavioral tests were repeated after modeling. Intestinal tissues and fecal samples of the mice were examined using histology and 16Sr DNA sequencing, respectively. Results: Compared with mice receiving microbiota from healthy controls, mice receiving fecal suspensions from ET patients showed worse performance in the pre-modeling behavioral tests. After modeling, ET-group mice showed significantly greater tremor scores, longer tremor duration, and worse motor performance. They also had significantly lower body weight and lower fecal pellet count. Pathological scoring revealed more severe intestinal lesions in ET-group mice. The 16S rDNA sequencing data revealed significant differences in microbiota indices, and a correlation between these indices and tremors in mice. Functional predictions indicated that the abundance of GABA-related enzymes was altered in ET-group mice. Conclusion: Mice transplanted with gut microbiota from ET patients showed worse performance in behavioral tests. After modeling, ET-group mice presented longer tremor duration, higher tremor score, and worse motor performance. This study provides evidence for gut microbiota dysbiosis that may affect the pathogenesis of ET.

Drug-Resistant Epilepsy and Gut-Brain Axis: an Overview of a New Strategy for Treatment.

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), also known as intractable epilepsy or refractory epilepsy, is a disease state with long-term poorly controlled seizures attack. Without effective treatment, patients are at an elevated risk of injury, premature death, mental disorders, and poor quality of life, increasing the need for a fresh perspective on the etiology and treatment of DRE. The gut is known to harbor a wide variety of microorganisms that can regulate the host's response to exogenous signals and participate in various physiological and pathological processes in the human body. Interestingly, emerging evidence has uncovered the changes in gut microbiota in patients with epilepsy, particularly those with DRE. In addition, both dietary interventions and specific antibiotic therapy have been proven to be effective in restoring the microecological environment and, more importantly, reducing seizures. Here, we reviewed recent studies on DRE and the involvement of gut microbiota in it, describing changes in the gut microflora composition in patients with DRE and corresponding animal models. Furthermore, the influence of the ketogenic diet, probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and antibiotics as microbiome-related factors on seizure control and its possible mechanisms are broadly discussed. Finally, we highlighted the significance of gut microbiome in DRE, in order to provide a new prospect for early identification and individualized treatment of patients with DRE.

Enterogenic metabolomics signatures of depression: what are the possibilities for the future.

INTRODUCTION: An increasing number of studies indicate that the microbiota-gut-brain axis is an important pathway involved in the onset and progression of depression. The responses of the organism (or its microorganisms) to external cues cannot be separated from a key intermediate element: their metabolites. AREAS COVERED: In recent years, with the rapid development of metabolomics, an increasing amount of metabolites has been detected and studied, especially the gut metabolites. Nevertheless, the increasing amount of metabolites described has not been reflected in a better understanding of their functions and metabolic pathways. Moreover, our knowledge of the biological interactions among metabolites is also incomplete, which limits further studies on the connections between the microbial-entero-brain axis and depression. EXPERT OPINION: This paper summarizes the current knowledge on depression-related metabolites and their involvement in the onset and progression of this disease. More importantly, this paper summarized metabolites from the intestine, and defined them as enterogenic metabolites, to further clarify the function of intestinal metabolites and their biochemical cross-talk, providing theoretical support and new research directions for the prevention and treatment of depression.

Fecal microbial transplantation limits neural injury severity and functional deficits in a pediatric piglet traumatic brain injury model.

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in children. Due to bidirectional communication between the brain and gut microbial population, introduction of key gut bacteria may mitigate critical TBI-induced secondary injury cascades, thus lessening neural damage and improving functional outcomes. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a daily fecal microbial transplant (FMT) to alleviate neural injury severity, prevent gut dysbiosis, and improve functional recovery post TBI in a translational pediatric piglet model. Male piglets at 4-weeks of age were randomly assigned to Sham + saline, TBI + saline, or TBI + FMT treatment groups. A moderate/severe TBI was induced by controlled cortical impact and Sham pigs underwent craniectomy surgery only. FMT or saline were administered by oral gavage daily for 7 days. MRI was performed 1 day (1D) and 7 days (7D) post TBI. Fecal and cecal samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Ipsilateral brain and ileum tissue samples were collected for histological assessment. Gait and behavior testing were conducted at multiple timepoints. MRI showed that FMT treated animals demonstrated decreased lesion volume and hemorrhage volume at 7D post TBI as compared to 1D post TBI. Histological analysis revealed improved neuron and oligodendrocyte survival and restored ileum tissue morphology at 7D post TBI in FMT treated animals. Microbiome analysis indicated decreased dysbiosis in FMT treated animals with an increase in multiple probiotic Lactobacilli species, associated with anti-inflammatory therapeutic effects, in the cecum of the FMT treated animals, while non-treated TBI animals showed an increase in pathogenic bacteria, associated with inflammation and disease such in feces. FMT mediated enhanced cellular and tissue recovery resulted in improved motor function including stride and step length and voluntary motor activity in FMT treated animals. Here we report for the first time in a highly translatable pediatric piglet TBI model, the potential of FMT treatment to significantly limit cellular and tissue damage leading to improved functional outcomes following a TBI.

Fiber deprivation and microbiome-borne curli shift gut bacterial populations and accelerate disease in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder characterized by motor dysfunction, dopaminergic neuron loss, and alpha-synuclein (αSyn) inclusions. Many PD risk factors are known, but those affecting disease progression are not. Lifestyle and microbial dysbiosis are candidates in this context. Diet-driven gut dysbiosis and reduced barrier function may increase exposure of enteric neurons to toxins. Here, we study whether fiber deprivation and exposure to bacterial curli, a protein cross-seeding with αSyn, individually or together, exacerbate disease in the enteric and central nervous systems of a transgenic PD mouse model. We analyze the gut microbiome, motor behavior, and gastrointestinal and brain pathologies. We find that diet and bacterial curli alter the microbiome and exacerbate motor performance, as well as intestinal and brain pathologies, but to different extents. Our results shed important insights on how diet and microbiome-borne insults modulate PD progression via the gut-brain axis and have implications for lifestyle management of PD.

Anxiety-like Behavior in Female Sprague Dawley Rats Associated with Cecal Clostridiales.

The relationship between the microbiota profile and exposure to stress is not well understood. Therefore, we used a rat model of unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) to investigate this relationship. Depressive-like behaviors were measured in Female Sprague Dawley rats using the sucrose preference test and the Porsolt swim test. Anxiety-like behaviors were measured with the light-dark box test. Fecal corticosterone, cecal microbiota (composition and organic acids), plasma gut permeability (lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, LBP) and plasma inflammation (12 cytokines) markers were measured. Atypical behaviors were observed in female rats following UCMS, but no depressive-like behaviors were observed. Circulating concentrations of cytokines granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant 1 were higher in UCMS-exposed female rats; plasma LBP and cecal organic acid levels remained unchanged. Our results reflect a resilient and adaptive phenotype for female SD rats. The relative abundance of taxa from the Clostridiales order and Desulfovibrionaceae family did, however, correlate both positively and negatively with anxiety-like behaviors and plasma cytokine concentrations, regardless of UCMS exposure, supporting the brain-to-gut influence of mild anxiety with a microbiota profile that may involve inflammatory pathways.

Microbiome-Gut-Mucosal-Immune-Brain Axis and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Novel Proposal of the Role of the Gut Microbiome in ASD Aetiology.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by deficits in social interaction and communication, as well as restricted and stereotyped interests. Due of the high prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders in individuals with ASD, researchers have investigated the gut microbiota as a potential contributor to its aetiology. The relationship between the microbiome, gut, and brain (microbiome-gut-brain axis) has been acknowledged as a key factor in modulating brain function and social behaviour, but its connection to the aetiology of ASD is not well understood. Recently, there has been increasing attention on the relationship between the immune system, gastrointestinal disorders and neurological issues in ASD, particularly in relation to the loss of specific species or a decrease in microbial diversity. It focuses on how gut microbiota dysbiosis can affect gut permeability, immune function and microbiota metabolites in ASD. However, a very complete study suggests that dysbiosis is a consequence of the disease and that it has practically no effect on autistic manifestations. This is a review of the relationship between the immune system, microbial diversity and the microbiome-gut-brain axis in the development of autistic symptoms severity and a proposal of a novel role of gut microbiome in ASD, where dysbiosis is a consequence of ASD-related behaviour and where dysbiosis in turn accentuates the autistic manifestations of the patients via the microbiome-gut-brain axis in a feedback circuit.

Malfunctioned inflammatory response and serotonin metabolism at the microbiota-gut-brain axis drive feather pecking behavior in laying hens.

Feather pecking (FP) is a multifactorial abnormal behavior in laying hens where they display harmful pecks in conspecifics. FP has been associated with the altered functioning of the microbiome-gut-brain axis affecting host emotions and social behavior. The altered levels of serotonin (5-HT), a key monoaminergic neurotransmitter at both terminals of the gut-brain axis, affect the development of abnormal behavior, such as FP in laying hens. However, the underlying mechanism involving reciprocal interactions along the microbiota-gut-brain axis, particularly about the metabolism of 5-HT, remains unclear in FP phenotypes. This study examined the microbiota diversity, intestinal microbial metabolites, inflammatory responses, and 5-HT metabolism in divergently selected high (HFP; n = 8) and low (LFP; n = 8) FP hens to investigate the possible interconnections between FP behavior and the examined parameters. The 16S rRNA analysis revealed that compared to LFP birds, the gut microbiota of HFP birds exhibited a decrease in the abundance of phylum Firmicutes and genera Lactobacillus, while an increase in the abundance of phylum Proteobacteria and genera Escherichia Shigella and Desulfovibrio. Furthermore, the intestinal differential metabolites associated with FP phenotypes were mainly enriched in the tryptophan metabolic pathway. HFP birds had higher tryptophan metabolites and possibly a more responsive immune system compared to the LFP birds. This was indirectly supported by altered TNF-α levels in the serum and expression of inflammatory factor in the gut and brain. Moreover, HFP birds had lower serum levels of tryptophan and 5-HT compared to LFP birds, which was consistent with the downregulation of 5-HT metabolism-related genes in the brain of HFP birds. The correlation analysis revealed that genera Lactobacillus and Desulfovibrio were associated with differences in intestinal metabolites, 5-HT metabolism, and inflammatory response between the LFP and HFP birds. In conclusion, differences in the cecal microbiota profile, immune response and 5-HT metabolism drive FP phenotypes, which could be associated with the gut abundance of genera Lactobacillus and Desulfovibrio.

Lactoferrin alleviates Western diet-induced cognitive impairment through the microbiome-gut-brain axis.

Lactoferrin (Lf) has been shown to benefit cognitive function in several animal models. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms, male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the control (CON), Western-style diets (WD), lactoferrin (Lf), and Lf + antibiotics (AB) groups. The Lf group was intragastrically administered with Lf, and the Lf + AB group additionally drank a solution with antibiotics. After 16 weeks of intervention, Lf improved the cognitive function as indicated by behavioral tests. Lf also increased the length and curvature of postsynaptic density and upregulated the related protein expression, suggesting improved hippocampal neurons and synapses. Lf suppressed microglia activation and proliferation as revealed by immunofluorescence analysis. Lf decreased the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and downregulated their protein expressions in the hippocampus region. Lf also inhibited the activation of NF-κB/NLRP3 inflammasomes in the hippocampus. Meanwhile, Lf upregulated the expression of tight junction proteins, and increased the abundance of Bacteroidetes at phylum and Roseburia at genus, which are beneficial for gut barrier and cognitive function. The antibiotics eliminated the effects of long-term Lf intervention on cognitive impairment in the Lf + AB group, suggesting that gut microbiota participated in Lf action. Short-term Lf intervention (2 weeks) prevented WD-induced gut microbiota alteration without inducing behavioral changes, supporting the timing sequence of gut microbiota to the brain. Thus, Lf intervention alleviated cognitive impairment by inhibiting microglial activation and neuroinflammation through the microbiome-gut-brain axis.