Therapeutic effect of fecal microbiota transplantation on chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression

作者：Ting Cai, Shao-peng Zheng, Xiao Shi, Lingzhi Yuan, Hai Hu, Zhou Bai, Shi-lang Xiao, Fen Wang · 发表于：Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3389/fcimb.2022.900652 · 被引用次数：61 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、Tryptophan and brain disorders、Gastrointestinal motility and disorders

Background and objective Depression is a complex neuropsychiatric disease with extensive morbidity. Its pathogenesis remains unclear, and it is associated with extremely low rates of cure and complete remission. It is vital to study the pathogenesis of depression to develop effective treatments. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of depression in rats. Methods Thirty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups: control, chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) to model depression, and CUMS+FMT. For the CUMS and CUMS+FMT groups, after CUMS intervention (four weeks), the rats were given normal saline or FMT (once/week for three weeks), respectively. Behavior, colonic motility, 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing, and untargeted metabolomics on fecal samples were compared between the three rat groups. The following markers were analyzed: 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate (Glu), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the hippocampus; glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and interleukin (IL)-6 levels in the serum; and GLP-1, GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R), and serotonin 4 receptor (5-HT 4 R) levels in colonic tissues. Results FMT improved symptoms of depression and colonic motility in rats exposed to CUMS. The expression levels of 5-HT, GABA, BDNF, and other biochemical indices, significantly differed among the...