Gut dysbiosis leads to cognitive decline through CNTF-mediated activation of microglia in mice
In summary, our study demonstrates that antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis triggers a cascade of neuroinflammatory events in the hippocampus, involving the elevation of CNTF, microglial pruning at presynaptic terminals, and reciprocal activation of glial cells, resulting in cognitive deficits. These findings highlight the critical role of gut-brain communication in maintaining neural homeostasis and identify CNTF as a potential therapeutic target for dysbiosis-associated cognitive disorders.
Authors
- Krishnapriya
- Kristin Michaelsen‐Preusse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7838-5882)
- Shirin Hosseini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7949-862X)
- Ayswaria Deepti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7159-6911)
- Martin Körte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6956-5913)
- P. S. Baby Chakrapani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6760-7187)
- Tara Sudhadevi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6966-6298)
- Unnikrishnan Sivan
- Dayamrita Kollaparampil Kishanchand
- Rishikesh Rishikesh
- Isabell Haack
Institutions
- Cochin University of Science and Technology (IN)
- Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (IN)
- CHI Health (US)
- Central University of Kerala (IN)
- Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (DE)
- Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Biology
- Published
- 2025-12-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02454-x
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81
Funders
- Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
- Indian Council of Medical Research
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Cochin University of Science and Technology
- Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment