Bacterial infection causes stress-induced memory dysfunction in mice

By M. Gareau, E. Wine, D. M. Rodrigues, Joon Ho Cho, M. Whary, D. Philpott, Glenda Macqueen, P. Sherman. Gut, 2010

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Background The brain–gut axis is a key regulator of normal intestinal physiology; for example, psychological stress is linked to altered gut barrier function, development of food allergies and changes in behaviour. Whether intestinal events, such as enteric bacterial infections and bacterial colonisation, exert a reciprocal effect on stress-associated behaviour is not well established. Objective To determine the effects of either acute enteric infection or absence of gut microbiota on behaviour, including anxiety and non-spatial memory formation. Methods Behaviour was assessed following infection with the non-invasive enteric pathogen, Citrobacter rodentium in both C57BL/6 mice and germ-free Swiss-Webster mice, in the presence or absence of acute water avoidance stress. Whether daily treatment with probiotics normalised behaviour was assessed, and potential mechanisms of action evaluated. Results No behavioural abnormalities were observed, either at the height of infection (10 days) or following bacterial clearance (30 days), in C rodentium-infected C57BL/6 mice. When infected mice were exposed to acute stress, however, memory dysfunction was apparent after infection (10 days and 30 days). Memory dysfunction was prevented by daily treatment of infected mice with probiotics. Memory was impaired in germ-free mice, with or without exposure to stress, in contrast to conventionally reared, control Swiss-Webster mice with an intact intestinal microbiota. Conclusions The intestinal microbiota influences the ability to form memory. Memory dysfunction occurs in infected mice exposed to acute stress, while in the germ-free setting memory is altered at baseline.

Subfields: Behavioral Neuroscience, Immunology, Molecular Biology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/60be1f692619bc17468541b3a57bf6e790ef9ec3

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Citations in the corpus

Gut instincts: microbiota as a key regulator of brain development, ageing and neurodegeneration (2017, background): “In the hippocampus, the changes in Bdnf levels documented are inconsistent with some studies reporting an increase (Neufeld et al. 2011), whereas most others show a decrease in expression (Sudo et al. 2004; Diaz Heijtz et al. 2011; Gareau et al. 2011; Clarke et al. 2013).”
Influence of Tryptophan and Serotonin on Mood and Cognition with a Possible Role of the Gut-Brain Axis (2016, background): “Mice infected with an enteric pathogen exhibited working memory dysfunction [115], and socially-associated behavioural impairment [116] but only after acute water stress.”
Ingestion of Lactobacillus strain regulates emotional behavior and central GABA receptor expression in a mouse via the vagus nerve (2011, background): “infected mice (34) as well as cognitive abilities in humans (35).”
Estrogen-gut microbiome axis: Physiological and clinical implications. (2017, background): “Germ free mice have been shown to have reduced working memory compared to conventionally colonized controls [99].”
The Central Nervous System and the Gut Microbiome (2016, background): “If the gut microbiome can so profoundly impact the immune system, why would its influence not reach the nervous system? Indeed, germ-free (GF) mice, devoid of all associated microorganisms, exhibit increased risk-taking behaviors and hyperactivity, while also displaying learning and memory deficits ”
The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems (2015, background): “In parallel, in GF animals, also memory dysfunction has been reported [35] probably to be ascribed to an altered expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), one of the most important factors involved in memory.”
The Gut Microbiota and Alzheimer’s Disease (2017, neutral): “A study by Savignac et ) [41] prevent the drop in hippocampal BDNF expression prevent stress-induced memory deﬁcits in C. rodentium -infected mice B. longum 1714 [59] need further investigation improve the ability of learning and memory in an anxious mouse B. breve 1205 [59] need further…”
The role of microbiome in central nervous system disorders (2013, neutral): “GF animals displayed increased stress and impaired cognition (Gareau et al., 2011; Sudo et al., 2004).”
Impact of microbiota on central nervous system and neurological diseases: the gut-brain axis (2019, background): “GF mice that are devoid of associated microflora exhibit neurological deficiencies in learning, memory, recognition, and emotional behaviors [11, 12].”