Paper

Targeting the Microbiome to Improve Gut Health and Breathing Function After Spinal Cord Injury

Kigerl, Kristina A, Bachstetter, Adam D, Clarke, Harrison A, Speed, Sydney L, Taylor, Chase E, Dong, Brittany E, Hawkinson, Tara R, Waters, Christopher M, Popovich, Phillip G, Sun, Ramon C, Wilson, Jessica N, Sunshine, Michael D, Calulot, Chris M, Alilain, Warren J, Rose, Breanna C

2023

Overview

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition characterized by impaired motor and sensory function, as well as internal organ pathology and dysfunction. This internal organ dysfunction, particularly gastrointestinal (GI) complications, and neurogenic bowel, can reduce the quality of life of individuals with an SCI and potentially hinder their recovery. The gut microbiome impacts various central nervous system functions and has been linked to a number of health and disease states. An imbalance of the gut microbiome, i.e., gut dysbiosis, contributes to neurological disease and may influence recovery and repair processes after SCI. Here we examine the impact of high cervical SCI on the gut microbiome and find that transient gut dysbiosis with persistent gut pathology develops after SCI. Importantly, probiotic treatment improves gut health and respiratory motor function measured through whole-body plethysmography. Concurrent with these improvements was a systemic decrease in the cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha and an increase in neurite sprouting and regenerative potential of neurons. Collectively, these data reveal the gut microbiome as an important therapeutic target to improve visceral organ health and respiratory motor recovery after SCI.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.Footnotes* Correction to Figure 2a legend. Previously read \"Figure 2. Cervical SCI leads to acute dysbiosis and GI tract pathology. a, Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) on Bray Curtis distances of normalized operational taxonomic units (OTUs) rarefied reads colored by day post-injury in surgical sham (square) or LC2Hx (circle) (permnova p = 0.0001).\" Corrected to \"Figure 2. Cervical SCI leads to acute dysbiosis and GI tract pathology. a, Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) on Bray Curtis distances of normalized operational taxonomic units (OTUs) rarefied reads for all timepoints pre- and post-injury (pink = LC2Hx; blue = surgical sham; permnova p = 0.0001).\"

• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
• Subject: Axon sprouting / Central nervous system / Digestive system / Dysbacteriosis / Gastrointestinal tract / Intestinal microflora / Microbiomes / Neurological diseases / Neuroscience / Pathology / Probiotics / Quality of life / Spinal cord injuries / Taxonomy / Therapeutic targets