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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Neuropharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1520988
This article is part of the Research Topic Targeting Neuroinflammation for Novel Therapeutics in Neurodegenerative Diseases View all 16 articles

Acetate and propionate as a novel method for cognitive dysfunction and anxiety symptoms in delayed encephalopathy after acute carbon monoxide poisoning rat

Provisionally accepted
Tianyu Meng Tianyu Meng 1Xin Zhang Xin Zhang 2Jili Zhao Jili Zhao 2Hui Xue Hui Xue 2Lehua Yu Lehua Yu 1*
  • 1 Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 Baotou Central Hospital, Baotou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Backgrounds: The optimal methods for treating delayed encephalopathy after acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning (DEACMP) were not available. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the efficacy of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on treating DEACMP. Methods: In phase I, DEACMP rat model was built to assess the inflammation levels in hippocampus and the levels SCFAs in serum of DEACMP rats. In phase II, DEACMP rat model was firstly built, and then DEACMP rats were randomly assigned into four groups: DEACMP+placebo, DEACMP+SCFAs, DEACMP+sham iTBS, and DEACMP+iTBS. The intervention was continued for two weeks. Morris water maze test and open field test were used to assess the cognitive function and anxiety symptoms, respectively.Results: The levels of three inflammation factors (IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α) and two SCFAs (acetate and propionate) were significantly increased and decreased, respectively, in DEACMP rats. After treatment, the cognitive dysfunction and anxiety symptoms were significantly improved in DEACMP+iTBS group and DEACMP+SCFAs (consisting of acetate and propionate) group. Meanwhile, both SCFAs and iTBS could significantly improve the increased levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in hippocampus, and SCFAs could also improve the decreased levels of GPR41, GPR43, dopamine and norepinephrine in hippocampus of DEACMP rats.Conclusion: These results indicated that both iTBS and SCFAs solution consisting of acetate and propionate produced good effects on DEACMP rats via regulating inflammation levels in hippocampus, and “Acetate/propionate”-“GPR41/GPR43”-“IL-1β/IL-6/TNF-α”-“dopamine/norepinephrine” might be a potential pathway in SCFAs treating DEACMP.

    Keywords: DEACMP, iTBS, SCFAs, Inflammation, neurotransmitter

    Received: 04 Nov 2024; Accepted: 04 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Meng, Zhang, Zhao, Xue and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lehua Yu, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

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