Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, IBBC, CNR, Via E. Ramarini, 32, Monterotondo, Rome, 00015, Italy.
Sciences of Nutrition, Aging, Metabolism and Gender Pathologies, Catholic University of Roma, Rome, 00100, Italy.
Microbiome. 2024 Feb 19;12(1):29. doi: 10.1186/s40168-024-01752-w.
Intestinal microbial composition not only affects the health of the gut but also influences centrally mediated systems involved in mood, through the "gut-brain" axis, a bidirectional communication between gut microbiota and the brain. In this context, the modulation of intestinal microbiota and its metabolites through the administration of probiotics seems to represent a very promising approach in the treatment of the central nervous system alterations. Early postnatal life is a critical period during which the brain undergoes profound and essential modulations in terms of maturation and plasticity. Maternal separation (MS), i.e., the disruption of the mother-pup interaction, represents a pivotal paradigm in the study of stress-related mood disorders, by inducing persistent changes in the immune system, inflammatory processes, and emotional behavior in adult mammals.
We conducted experiments to investigate whether sustained consumption of a multi-strain probiotic formulation by adult male mice could mitigate the effects of maternal separation. Our data demonstrated that the treatment with probiotics was able to totally reverse the anxiety- and depressive-like behavior; normalize the neuro-inflammatory state, by restoring the resting state of microglia; and finally induce a proneurogenic effect. Mice subjected to maternal separation showed changes in microbiota composition compared to the control group that resulted in permissive colonization by the administered multi-strain probiotic product. As a consequence, the probiotic treatment also significantly affected the production of SCFA and in particular the level of butyrate.
Gut microbiota and its metabolites mediate the therapeutic action of the probiotic mix on MS-induced brain dysfunctions. Our findings extend the knowledge on the use of probiotics as a therapeutic tool in the presence of alterations of the emotional sphere that significantly impact on gut microbiota composition. Video Abstract.
肠道微生物组成不仅影响肠道健康，还通过“肠-脑”轴影响中枢介导的与情绪相关的系统，这是一种肠道微生物群和大脑之间的双向通讯。在这种情况下，通过益生菌来调节肠道微生物群及其代谢产物似乎是治疗中枢神经系统改变的一种很有前途的方法。生命早期是大脑在成熟和可塑性方面发生深刻而必要变化的关键时期。母婴分离（MS），即破坏母婴互动，通过在成年哺乳动物中诱导免疫系统、炎症过程和情绪行为的持续变化，代表了应激相关情绪障碍研究中的一个关键范例。
我们进行了实验来研究成年雄性小鼠持续消耗多菌株益生菌配方是否可以减轻母婴分离的影响。我们的数据表明，益生菌治疗能够完全逆转焦虑和抑郁样行为；通过恢复小胶质细胞的静息状态来使神经炎症状态正常化；最后诱导出有利于神经发生的作用。与对照组相比，经历母婴分离的小鼠的微生物群组成发生了变化，这使得被给予的多菌株益生菌产品能够允许其定植。因此，益生菌治疗也显著影响了 SCFA 的产生，特别是丁酸的水平。
肠道微生物群及其代谢产物介导了益生菌混合物对母婴分离引起的大脑功能障碍的治疗作用。我们的发现扩展了关于益生菌作为一种治疗工具在情绪领域改变的情况下的使用知识，这种改变会显著影响肠道微生物群的组成。
