Gastrointestinal microbiome of ARDS patients induces neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment in mice

• Published in: Journal of neuroinflammation 2023-07, Vol.20 (1), p.166-166, Article 166
• Main Authors: Zheng, Hong, Zhao, Qihui, Chen, Jianuo, Lu, Jiahui, Li, Yuping, Gao, Hongchang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute respiratory distress syndrome; Animal cognition; Animals; Antibiotics; ARDS; Bacteria; Behavior; Blood-brain barrier; Care and treatment; Cognition disorders; Cognitive ability; Cognitive Dysfunction; Complications and side effects; Composition; Digestive system; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Gastrointestinal tract; Gram-negative bacteria; Gut-brain axis; Inflammation; Intestinal microflora; Lipopolysaccharides; Male; Memory; Metabolism; Metabolites; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Microglia; Neuroinflammatory Diseases; Open-field behavior; Permeability; Pneumonia; Post traumatic stress disorder; Prevention; Quality of Life; Respiratory distress syndrome; Respiratory Distress Syndrome - microbiology; Risk factors; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Sequence analysis
• ISSN: 1742-2094; 1742-2094
• DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02825-7

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a respiratory failure syndrome that can cause many complications, impacting patients' quality of life. Behavioral and cognitive disorders have attracted increasing attention in patients with ARDS, but its potential mechanisms are still elusive. Herein we transferred the faecal microbiota from patients with ARDS caused by community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) to antibiotics-treated recipient male mice to explore the microbiota-gut-brain mechanisms. Behavioral functions of mice were evaluated by the open field test, Morris water maze and Y-maze test. The structure and composition of the gut microbiota were analyzed by using 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. Microglia, astrocyte and neuron in the cortex and hippocampus were examined via immunofluorescent staining. We found that the major characteristic of the intestinal flora in ARDS/CAP patients was higher abundances of Gram-negative bacteria than normal controls. The gut microbiota derived from ARDS/CAP patients promoted neuroinflammation and behavioral dysfunctions in mice. Mice who underwent fecal transplant from ARDS/CAP patients had increased systemic lipopolysaccharide (LPS), systemic inflammation, and increased colonic barrier permeability. This may adversely impact blood barrier permeability and facilitate microglia activation, astrocyte proliferation, and loss of neurons. Our study proposes the role of the microbiota-gut-brain crosstalk on ARDS/CAP-associated behavioral impairments and suggests the gut microbiota as a potential target for the protection of brain health in ARDS patients in clinical practice.