The role of gut microbiota in chronic psychosocial stress in gnotobiotic mice

0484619 - MBÚ 2018 NL eng A - Abstract
Hudcovic, Tomáš - Hermanová, Petra - Vodička, Martin - Ergang, Peter - Mikulecká, Anna - Kozáková, Hana - Pácha, Jiří
The role of gut microbiota in chronic psychosocial stress in gnotobiotic mice.
Mind, mood & microbes, Abstracts of lectures and posters. Amstedam: The 1st international konference on microbiota-gut-brain axis, 2016. s. 73.
[The 1st international konference on microbiota-gut-brain axis. 01.12.2016-02.12.2016, Amsterdam]
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-07268S
Institutional support: RVO:61388971
OECD category: Immunology

Influence of gut microbiota on chronic psychosocial stress was studied using germ-free (GF) and specific pathogen free (SPF) males of BALB/c mice. Stress was evoked using resident-intruder paradigm where young male was placed in a cage of an unfamiliar male. After 10 min of free interaction, mice were separated by a steel grate, for following 50 min. This procedure was repeated in five days and interactions were video-recorded. The changes in behavior during social interactions and the levels of neurohormone and cytokine mRNAs were investigated. We have found reduced anxiety in GF males, compared to SPF counterparts. Stress increased the expression of adrenal tyrosinhydroxylase and phenyletanolamin-N-metyltransferase and this effect was significantly more pronounced in GF than SPF. No effect of gut microbiota was found in expression of proopiomelanocortin in pituitary; however in SPF we found higher mRNA expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), than in GF. Chronic stress also led to slight decrease of GR in SPF mice. Stress decreased splenic IL-4, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN in both GF and SPF whereas TNFa and IL-1b only in GF. We conclude that microbiota impact anxiety, stress and immune response to psychosocial stress.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0279785