Ghrelin Signaling Regulates Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Abstract
Gut microbiota is a critical regulator of host's metabolism, immune system and cognitive function. However, the microbiome-gut-brain axis has not been systematically studied in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), much less in Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A novel experimental "2-hit" model (IBD-PTSD) is established, where mice are subjected to dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis and then conditioned fear (CF) memory test, to study the role of microbiome-gut-brain axis in these inflammatory pathologies. In previous research period, we found that DSS-induced colitis led to contextual memory deficit in female but not in male mice, even when colitis-associated disease symptoms such as diarrhea and rectal bleeding have subsided. To confirm this sexual dimorphism in inflammatory response, we repeated the experiments and found that the previous negative data in male mice were likely due to technical issues (cage change disturbances during memory consolidation phase). Molecular characterization showed prolonged neuroinflammation and astrogliosis in the mice that had been exposed to DSS. New preliminary data showed that ghrelin attenuated DSS-induced colitis, potentially through PPARgamma pathway to regulate intestinal homeostasis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1171253
Entities
People
- Chia Shan Wu
Organizations
- Texas A&M University