A recent study has investigated the correlation between myelin biology and gut microbiome profile. The study aimed to determine whether the gut-brain axis conveys the effects of myelin damage on the gut microbiome profile. The researchers conducted experiments on rats to investigate the impact of local myelin damage in the hippocampus on gut microbiome profile and memory performance. The results of the study showed that local myelin damage in the hippocampus triggered severe gut dysbiosis and changed memory performance. Moreover, myelin treatment with clemastine improved gut dysbiosis and behavioral deviations. The study provides animal-based evidence on the direct interaction between glial biology in the hippocampus and gut microbiome profile.
This study proposes a framework for generating new hypotheses bridging different systems to the gut-brain axis. The gut-brain axis has been heavily studied in the last decade, and it has become possible to evaluate the effects of genetic/sporadic factors of neurodegenerative disorders on the gut microbiome. Altered gut microbiome composition spurs immunological and physiologic fluctuations in the central nervous system (CNS). Various factors triggering demyelinating diseases affect intestinal flora.
This study investigated the interactions between myelin biology and gut microbiome bilaterally. In other words, in addition to testing the effects of gut dysbiosis on myelin production and oligodendrocyte with metagenomic, molecular, and behavioral experiments, the effects of hippocampal myelin damage on gut microbiome composition were investigated for the first time. Our data suggest that oral antibiotic cocktail administration reduces the levels of myelin basic protein (MBP) and oligodendrocyte-specific protein (OSP) and causes demyelination in rats. Reversely, when testing the effects of local myelin damage on gut microbiome composition, we determined that local myelin damage in the hippocampus formed by intracranial lysolecithin injection fluctuated gut microbiome profile, which is the first data suggesting a local myelin damage-gut microbiome interaction from the myelin biology to the gut tract.
This study is significant because it provides a framework for generating new hypotheses bridging different systems to the gut-brain axis. The results suggest that oral antibiotic cocktail administration reduces the levels of MBP and OSP, and causes demyelination in rats. Conversely, local myelin damage in the hippocampus formed by intracranial lysolecithin injection fluctuates gut microbiome profile, which is the first data suggesting a local myelin damage-gut microbiome interaction from the myelin biology to the gut tract. Further studies based on these results could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases that target the gut-brain axis.
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