Diet-microbiome interactions promote enteric nervous system resilience following spinal cord injury
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a plethora of physiological dysfunctions across all body systems, including intestinal dysmotility and atrophy of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Typically, the ENS has capacity to recover from perturbation, so it is unclear why intestinal pathophysiologies persist after traumatic spinal injury. With emerging evidence demonstrating SCI-induced alterations to the gut microbiome composition, we hypothesized that modulation of the gut microbiome could contribute to enteric nervous system recovery after injury. Here, we show that intervention with the dietary fiber, inulin prevents ENS atrophy and limits SCI-induced intestinal dysmotility in mice. However, SCI-associated microbiomes and exposure to specific SCI-sensitive gut microbes are not sufficient to modulate injury-induced intestinal dysmotility. Intervention with microbially-derived short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) metabolites prevents ENS dysfunctions and phenocopies inulin treatment in injured mice, implicating these microbiome metabolites in protection of the ENS. Notably, inulin-mediated resilience is dependent on signaling by the cytokine IL-10, highlighting a critical diet-microbiome-immune axis that promotes ENS resilience following SCI. Overall, we demonstrate that diet and microbially-derived signals distinctly impact recovery of the ENS after traumatic spinal injury. This protective diet-microbiome-immune axis may represent a foundation to uncover etiological mechanisms and future therapeutics for SCI-induced neurogenic bowel.
Source: npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
Institutions: Emory University, Atlanta VA Health Care System
Language: English
Topic: Gut microbiota and health
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,990
Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Emory University, National Institutes of Health, School of Medicine, Emory University, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Awards: G112503250, G1694489487, G196810821, G350592738, G4160209598, G431446938, Microbiome-microglia interactions in Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology, Training In Systems And Integrative Biology Neuroscience, Interaction of Pyrethroid Exposure and the Microbiome on Parkinson's Disease related Pathologies, G5103395752, G6035430511, G6049895074, G6080468414, G6337254631, G75694742, G8394758140, G9000046174, G9000210267, G9000219256, Mechanism of Enteric Neuropathy
OpenAlex ID: W4401987416