Ahmad Ijaz, Omura Seiichi, Khadka Sundar, Sato Fumitaka, Park Ah-Mee, Rimal Sandesh, Tsunoda Ikuo
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kindai University, 377-2 Ohnohigashi, Osakasayma 589-8511, Osaka, Japan.
Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Cells. 2025 Jun 9;14(12):871. doi: 10.3390/cells14120871.
Viral infections have been associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), an immune-mediated disease in the central nervous system (CNS). Since Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) can induce MS-like demyelination, TMEV infection is the most widely used viral model for MS. Although the precise pathophysiology is unknown, altered fecal bacterial populations were associated with distinct immune gene expressions in the CNS. We aimed to determine the role of gut microbiota in TMEV infection by administering an antibiotic cocktail in drinking water before (prophylactic administration) or after (therapeutic administration) TMEV infection. The antibiotic administration reduced total eubacteria, including the phyla and , but increased the phylum in feces. Prophylactic administration did not alter TMEV-induced inflammatory demyelination clinically or histologically, without changes in anti-viral IgG1/IgG2c levels or lymphoproliferative responses; therapeutic administration temporarily suppressed the neurological signs. Although antibiotic treatment had minimal effects on TMEV infection, adding metronidazole and ampicillin in drinking water substantially reduced water intake in the antibiotic group of mice, resulting in significant body weight loss. Since dehydration and stress could affect immune responses and gut microbiota, caution should be exercised when planning or evaluating the oral antibiotic cocktail treatment in experimental animals.
病毒感染与多发性硬化症（MS）有关，MS是一种中枢神经系统（CNS）的免疫介导疾病。由于泰勒氏鼠脑脊髓炎病毒（TMEV）可诱发类似MS的脱髓鞘病变，TMEV感染是MS最常用的病毒模型。尽管确切的病理生理学尚不清楚，但粪便细菌菌群的改变与CNS中不同的免疫基因表达有关。我们旨在通过在TMEV感染前（预防性给药）或感染后（治疗性给药）在饮用水中添加抗生素鸡尾酒来确定肠道微生物群在TMEV感染中的作用。抗生素给药减少了粪便中的总真细菌，包括厚壁菌门和拟杆菌门，但增加了放线菌门。预防性给药在临床或组织学上并未改变TMEV诱导的炎性脱髓鞘，抗病毒IgG1/IgG2c水平或淋巴细胞增殖反应也没有变化；治疗性给药暂时抑制了神经症状。尽管抗生素治疗对TMEV感染影响极小，但在饮用水中添加甲硝唑和氨苄青霉素会显著降低抗生素组小鼠的饮水量，导致体重明显减轻。由于脱水和应激会影响免疫反应和肠道微生物群，因此在计划或评估实验动物口服抗生素鸡尾酒治疗时应谨慎行事。
