Bifidobacteria shape host neural circuits during postnatal development by promoting synapse formation and microglial function
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: We hypothesized that early-life gut microbiota support the functional organization of neural circuitry in the brain via regulation of synaptic gene expression and modulation of microglial functionality. Germ-free mice were colonized as neonates with either a simplified human infant microbiota consortium consisting of fourBifidobacteriumspecies, or with a complex, conventional murine microbiota. We examined the cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus of both groups of colonized mice in addition to germ-free control mice. At postnatal day 4 (P4), conventionalized mice andBifidobacterium-colonized mice exhibited decreased expression of synapse-promoting genes and increased markers indicative of reactive microglia in the cerebellum, cortex and hippocampus relative to germ-free mice. By P20, both conventional andBifidobacterium-treated mice exhibited normal synaptic density and neuronal activity as measured by density of VGLUT2+puncta and Purkinje cell firing rate respectively, in contrast to the increased synaptic density and decreased firing rate observed in germ-free mice. The conclusions from this study further reveal how bifidobacteria participate in establishing functional neural circuits. Collectively, these data indicate that neonatal microbial colonization of the gut elicits concomitant effects on the host CNS, which promote the homeostatic developmental balance of neural connections during the postnatal time period.
Source: Scientific Reports
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,870
Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Texas Children's Hospital, National Institutes of Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1404676264, CEREBELLAR FUNCTION IN TREMOR, G3359174562, Baylor Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers, G3549828030, G3820649357, G3904673751, G4102661714, G4523881014, A Multi'omics Approach towards Deciphering the Influence of the Microbiome on Pre, Gut L-Histidine Metabolism and Histamine Signaling in Colonic Neoplasia, SYNAPTIC ORIGINS OF CEREBELLAR DISEASE, Baylor College of Medicine Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center, Research Training in Pediatrics Gastroenterolgy, MUSC Digestive Disease Research Core Center
OpenAlex ID: W3021887052