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Short Chain Fatty Acid Supplementation Improves Stroke Recovery in Mice


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Posted 15 January 2020 - 11:21 AM


The gut microbiome produces a range of metabolites that are beneficial to health, though this production slackens with age for reasons that are still being explored. In recent years, researchers have demonstrated in mice that the short-chain fatty acids butyrate, acetate, and propionate are produced by gut microbes and have beneficial effects on brain function, such as by improving the pace of neurogenesis. Given this, it is a reasonable proposition to think that supplementation with these compounds might incrementally improve recovery from stroke or other form of brain injury. Researchers here show that to be the case in mice, and investigate the mechanisms by which these compounds beneficially alter the behavior of cells in injured areas of the brain.

Recovery after stroke is a multicellular process encompassing neurons, resident immune cells, and brain-invading cells. Stroke alters the gut microbiome which in turn has considerable impact on stroke outcome. However, the mechanisms underlying gut-brain interaction and implications for long-term recovery are largely elusive. Here, we tested the hypothesis that short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), key bioactive microbial metabolites, are the missing link along the gut-brain axis and might be able to modulate recovery after experimental stroke.

SCFA supplementation in the drinking water of male mice significantly improved recovery of affected limb motor function. Using in vivo wide-field calcium imaging, we observed that SCFA induced altered contralesional cortex connectivity. This was associated with SCFA-dependent changes in dendritic spine and synapse densities. RNA-sequencing of the forebrain cortex indicated a potential involvement of microglial cells in contributing to the structural and functional re-modelling. Further analyses confirmed a substantial impact of SCFA on microglial activation, which depended on the recruitment of T cells to the infarcted brain.

Previous studies have shown a bi-directional communication along the gut-brain axis after stroke. Stroke alters the gut microbiota composition, and in turn, microbiota dysbiosis has a substantial impact on stroke outcome by modulating the immune response. However, until now the mediators derived from the gut microbiome affecting the gut-immune-brain axis and the molecular mechanisms involved in this process were unknown. Here, we demonstrate that SCFA - fermentation products of the gut microbiome - are potent and pro-regenerative modulators of post-stroke neuronal plasticity at various structural levels. We identified that this effect was mediated via circulating lymphocytes on microglial activation. These results identify SCFA as a missing link along the gut-brain axis and as a potential therapeutic to improve recovery after stroke.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1...CI.1359-19.2019


View the full article at FightAging




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