Depression
Can a gut antibiotic ease stress depression in adolescent rats?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 56 adolescent rats, 150 mg/kg rifaximin during 4 weeks of CUMS restored sucrose preference, open-field and water-maze performance, raised Ruminococcaceae/Lachnospiraceae and brain butyrate, and shifted microglia toward anti-inflammatory functions.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — Adolescent rats: 4-week CUMS ± 150 mg/kg oral rifaximin; 16S microbiota, SCFAs, microglia, hippocampal neurogenesis, and depression-like tests
- N
- N=56 · 56 three-week-old rats; n = 14 in CON, CON+R, CUMS, and CUMS+R
- Population
- Adolescent rats (started at 3 weeks) under chronic unpredictable mild stress
- Outcome
- Depression-like and cognitive behavior, fecal microbiome, brain/serum SCFAs, microglial phenotype, hippocampal neurogenesis
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Key findings
Rifaximin improved CUMS depression-like and maze behavior, increased Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae (positively correlated with brain butyrate), raised anti-inflammatory microglial factors, and prevented CUMS neurogenic abnormalities.
Methodology
Randomized 3-week-old rats (n = 14/group) to control ± rifaximin or CUMS ± rifaximin for 4 weeks (150 mg/kg i.g.), then ran SPT, open field, and Morris water maze plus 16S, SCFAs, and hippocampal microglia/neurogenesis assays.
Limitations
Rat CUMS plus a poorly absorbed antibiotic is not a clinical depression trial; rifaximin is not shown to treat human adolescent MDD, and n = 14/group is modest.
How this study connects
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