Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams

Maternal obesity disturbs brain-gut-microbiota interactions and induces negative affect in the offspring, but its impact on gut and brain metabolism in the offspring (F1) are unknown. Here, we tested whether perinatal intake of a multispecies probiotic could mitigate the abnormal emotional behavior...

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Main Authors: Radford-Smith, DE, Probert, F, Burnet, PWJ, Anthony, DC
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2022
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author Radford-Smith, DE
Probert, F
Burnet, PWJ
Anthony, DC
author_facet Radford-Smith, DE
Probert, F
Burnet, PWJ
Anthony, DC
author_sort Radford-Smith, DE
collection OXFORD
description Maternal obesity disturbs brain-gut-microbiota interactions and induces negative affect in the offspring, but its impact on gut and brain metabolism in the offspring (F1) are unknown. Here, we tested whether perinatal intake of a multispecies probiotic could mitigate the abnormal emotional behavior in the juvenile and adult offspring of obese dams. Untargeted NMR-based metabolomic profiling and gene-expression analysis throughout the gut-brain axis were then used to investigate the biology underpinning behavioral changes in the dams and their offspring. Prolonged high-fat diet feeding reduced maternal gut short-chain fatty acid abundance, increased markers of peripheral inflammation, and decreased the abundance of neuroactive metabolites in maternal milk during nursing. Both juvenile (postnatal day [PND] 21) and adult (PND112) offspring of obese dams exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior, which were prevented by perinatal probiotic exposure. Maternal probiotic treatment increased gut butyrate and brain lactate in the juvenile and adult offspring and increased the expression of prefrontal cortex PFKFB3, a marker of glycolytic metabolism in astrocytes. PFKFB3 expression correlated with the increase in gut butyrate in the juvenile and adult offspring. Maternal obesity reduced synaptophysin expression in the adult offspring, while perinatal probiotic exposure increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Finally, we showed that the resilience of juvenile and adult offspring to anxiety-like behavior was most prominently associated with increased brain lactate abundance, independent of maternal group. Taken together, we show that maternal probiotic supplementation exerts a long-lasting effect on offspring neuroplasticity and the offspring gut-liver-brain metabolome, increasing resilience to emotional dysfunction induced by maternal obesity.
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spelling oxford-uuid:a7d7f90f-10ae-4298-bf44-2919a0de9fa72022-11-23T09:21:23ZModifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese damsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a7d7f90f-10ae-4298-bf44-2919a0de9fa7EnglishSymplectic ElementsNational Academy of Sciences2022Radford-Smith, DEProbert, FBurnet, PWJAnthony, DCMaternal obesity disturbs brain-gut-microbiota interactions and induces negative affect in the offspring, but its impact on gut and brain metabolism in the offspring (F1) are unknown. Here, we tested whether perinatal intake of a multispecies probiotic could mitigate the abnormal emotional behavior in the juvenile and adult offspring of obese dams. Untargeted NMR-based metabolomic profiling and gene-expression analysis throughout the gut-brain axis were then used to investigate the biology underpinning behavioral changes in the dams and their offspring. Prolonged high-fat diet feeding reduced maternal gut short-chain fatty acid abundance, increased markers of peripheral inflammation, and decreased the abundance of neuroactive metabolites in maternal milk during nursing. Both juvenile (postnatal day [PND] 21) and adult (PND112) offspring of obese dams exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior, which were prevented by perinatal probiotic exposure. Maternal probiotic treatment increased gut butyrate and brain lactate in the juvenile and adult offspring and increased the expression of prefrontal cortex PFKFB3, a marker of glycolytic metabolism in astrocytes. PFKFB3 expression correlated with the increase in gut butyrate in the juvenile and adult offspring. Maternal obesity reduced synaptophysin expression in the adult offspring, while perinatal probiotic exposure increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Finally, we showed that the resilience of juvenile and adult offspring to anxiety-like behavior was most prominently associated with increased brain lactate abundance, independent of maternal group. Taken together, we show that maternal probiotic supplementation exerts a long-lasting effect on offspring neuroplasticity and the offspring gut-liver-brain metabolome, increasing resilience to emotional dysfunction induced by maternal obesity.
spellingShingle Radford-Smith, DE
Probert, F
Burnet, PWJ
Anthony, DC
Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title_full Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title_fullStr Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title_full_unstemmed Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title_short Modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut-brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
title_sort modifying the maternal microbiota alters the gut brain metabolome and prevents emotional dysfunction in the adult offspring of obese dams
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