AUTHOR=Guo Ying , Xie Jian-Ping , Deng Ke , Li Xia , Yuan Yun , Xuan Qun , Xie Jing , He Xiao-Ming , Wang Qian , Li Juan-Juan , Luo Huai-Rong 

TITLE=Prophylactic Effects of Bifidobacterium adolescentis on Anxiety and Depression-Like Phenotypes After Chronic Stress: A Role of the Gut Microbiota-Inflammation Axis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00126

DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00126

ISSN=1662-5153

ABSTRACT=<p>Stress disturbs the balance of the gut microbiota and stimulates inflammation-to-brain mechanisms. Moreover, stress leads to anxiety and depressive disorders. <italic>Bifidobacterium adolescentis</italic> displays distinct anti-inflammatory effects. However, no report has focused on the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> related to the gut microbiome and the inflammation on chronic restraint stress (CRS) in mice. We found that pretreatment with <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> increased the time spent in the center of the open field apparatus, increased the percentage of entries into the open arms of the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and the percentage of time spent in the open arms of the EPM, and decreased the immobility duration in the tail suspension test as well as the forced swimming test (FST). Moreover, <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> increased the sequence proportion of <italic>Lactobacillus</italic> and reduced the sequence proportion of <italic>Bacteroides</italic> in feces. Furthermore, <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> markedly reduced the protein expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), p-nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) p65 and Iba1 and elevated brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the hippocampus. We conclude that the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of <italic>B. adolescentis</italic> are related to reducing inflammatory cytokines and rebalancing the gut microbiota.</p>