Bacteria invade the brain following intracortical microelectrode implantation, inducing gut-brain axis disruption and contributing to reduced microelectrode performance
Brain-machine interface performance can be affected by neuroinflammatory responses due to blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage following intracortical microelectrode implantation. Recent findings suggest that certain gut bacterial constituents might enter the brain through damaged BBB. Therefore, we hypothesized that damage to the BBB caused by microelectrode implantation could facilitate microbiome entry into the brain. In our study, we found bacterial sequences, including gut-related ones, in the brains of mice with implanted microelectrodes. These sequences changed over time. Mice treated with antibiotics showed a reduced presence of these bacteria and had a different inflammatory response, which temporarily improved microelectrode recording performance. However, long-term antibiotic use worsened performance and disrupted neurodegenerative pathways. Many bacterial sequences found were not present in the gut or in unimplanted brains. Together, the current study established a paradigm-shifting mechanism that may contribute to chronic intracortical microelectrode recording performance and affect overall brain health following intracortical microelectrode implantation.
Authors
- George F. Hoeferlin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5825-2820)
- Hoda Amani Hamedani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7129-5019)
- A. Bolu Ajiboye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9402-1165)
- Alice H. Lee
- E. Ricky Chan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9277-5329)
- Jeffrey R. Capadona (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8030-6947)
- Grace Burkhart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4516-5963)
- William D. Memberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2545-8574)
- George E. Jaskiw (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7168-0822)
- Andrew J. Shoffstall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0881-2180)
- Christopher S. Hong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7397-1671)
- Sarah E. Grabinski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7701-9592)
- Longshun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2008-3571)
- Horst A. von Recum (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9323-8100)
- Curtis J. Donskey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0990-4498)
- Abhinav P. Acharya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9361-2764)
- Lindsey N. Druschel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9457-1944)
- Ana G. Hernández-Reynoso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2961-2759)
- Jonathan L. Duncan
- Tejas Bajwa
- Hannah Olivares
- Gwendolyn R. Weagraff
- Meera Bambroo
- Liangliang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5986-2260)
- Jennifer A. Sweet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5436-7594)
- Jennifer Coleman
Institutions
- The University of Texas at Dallas (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (US)
- Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (US)
- University School (US)
- Neurological Surgery (US)
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-02-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56979-4
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.00
Funders
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Case Western Reserve University
- Rehabilitation Research and Development Service
- Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs