Fecal microbiota transplantation as an effective way in treating methylmercury-poisoned rats.

Methylmercury (MeHg) can cause devastating neurotoxicity in animals and human beings. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been found in MeHg-poisoned animals. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in a variety of diseases such as epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and autism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of FMT on MeHg-poisoned rats. FMT treatment was applied to MeHg-poisoned rats for 14 days. The neurobehavior, weight changes, dopamine (DA), the total Hg and MeHg level were evaluated. Besides, the gut microbiota and metabolites change in feces were also checked. It was found that FMT helped weight gain, alleviated the neurological disorders, enhanced fecal mercury excretion and MeHg demethylation, reconstructed gut microbiome and promoted the production of gut-brain axis related-metabolites in MeHg-poisoned rats. This study elaborates on the therapeutic efficacy of FMT in treating of MeHg-poisoned rats, which sheds lights on the treatment of neurological diseases like Minamata Disease and even Parkinson's Disease.