Effects of delivery mode on behavior in mouse offspring

Rhynchophylline Alleviates Hyperactivity and Cognitive Flexibility Impairment Associated With Inhibition of Inflammatory Responses in Mice That Partly Lack the Dopamine Transporter Protein

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Rhynchophylline (RHY) can alleviate some cognitive flexibility impairment and stereotyped behavior for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) patients as one of a key extract and an active ingredient in Ningdong granule (NDG), which is a Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation widely used in the treatment of ADHD and TS children in China; however, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate how RHY alleviates hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment while inhibiting inflammatory responses in mice that partly lack dopamine transporter protein (DAT- mice).

METHODS

Male DAT- mice were randomly divided into the RHY group (n = 8) and administered RHY (30 mg/kg) in the DAT- group (n = 8) and administered saline (i.p., 10 mL/kg) in wild-type (WT) mice as the WT control group (n = 8). Hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment were evaluated by the open field test (OFT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The levels of the inflammatory factors of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in cortical homogenates were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) after 8 weeks of treatment with RHY. In vitro, primary microglia and astrocytes extracted from the cortices of DAT- neonatal mice and WT neonatal mice were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg/mL) to induce neuroinflammatory responses and with RHY (20 mM) for 48 h. The levels of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) in the culture medium were measured at 6 h, 24 h, and 48 h after treatment with LPS and RHY.

RESULTS

RHY ameliorated hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment in DAT- mice and inhibited the expression of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, iNOS, and COX-2 in microglia and astrocytes in vitro, and also inhibited the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in cortical homogenates after 8 weeks of treatment.

CONCLUSION

RHY improved hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment through inhibiting inflammatory responses in DAT- mice.

Probiotic treatment with viable α-galactosylceramide-producing Bacteroides fragilis reduces diabetes incidence in female nonobese diabetic mice

BACKGROUND

We aimed to investigate whether alpha-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer)-producing Bacteroides fragilis could induce natural killer T (NKT) cells in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice and reduce their diabetes incidence.

METHODS

Five-week-old female NOD mice were treated orally with B. fragilis, and islet pathology and diabetes onset were monitored. Immune responses were analyzed by flow cytometry and multiplex technology. Effects of ultraviolet (UV)-killed α-GalCer-producing B. fragilis and their culture medium on invariant NKT (iNKT) cells were tested ex vivo on murine splenocytes, and the immunosuppressive capacity of splenocytes from B. fragilis-treated NOD mice were tested by adoptive transfer to nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice.

RESULTS

B. fragilis reduced the diabetes incidence from 69% to 33% and the percent of islets with insulitis from 40% to 7%, which doubled the serum insulin level compared with the vehicle-treated control mice. Furthermore, the early treatment reduced proinflammatory mediators in the serum, whereas the proportion of CD4+ NKT cell population was increased by 33%. B. fragilis growth media stimulated iNKT cells and anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages ex vivo in contrast to UV-killed bacteria, which had no effect, strongly indicating an α-GalCer-mediated effect. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes from B. fragilis-treated NOD mice induced a similar diabetes incidence as splenocytes from untreated NOD mice.

CONCLUSIONS

B. fragilis induced iNKT cells and M2 macrophages and reduced type 1 diabetes in NOD mice. The protective effect seemed to be more centered on gut-pancreas interactions rather than a systemic immunosuppression. B. fragilis should be considered for probiotic use in individuals at risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Effect of cesarean section on the risk of autism spectrum disorders/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in offspring: a meta-analysis

PURPOSE

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between cesarean section (CS) offspring and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

METHODS

Searching of the databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library) for studies on the relationship between mode of delivery and ASD/ADHD until August 2022. The primary outcome was the incidence of ASD/ADHD in the offspring.

RESULTS

This meta-analysis included 35 studies (12 cohort studies and 23 case-control studies). Statistical results showed a higher risk of ASD (odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, P < 0.001) and ADHD (OR = 1.11, P < 0.001) in CS offspring compared to the VD group. Partial subgroup analysis showed no difference in ASD risk between CS and VD offspring in sibling-matched groups (OR = 0.98, P = 0.625). The risk of ASD was higher in females (OR = 1.66, P = 0.003) than in males (OR = 1.17, P = 0.004) in the CS offspring compared with the VD group. There was no difference in the risk of ASD between CS under regional anesthesia group and VD group (OR = 1.07, P = 0.173). However, the risk of ASD was higher in the CS offspring under general anesthesia than in the VD offspring (OR = 1.62, P < 0.001). CS offspring developed autism (OR = 1.38, P = 0.011) and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (OR = 1.46, P = 0.004) had a higher risk than VD offspring, but there was no difference in Asperger syndrome (OR = 1.19, P = 0.115). Offspring born via CS had a higher incidence of ADHD in different subgroup analyses (sibling-matched, type of CS, and study design).

CONCLUSIONS

In this meta-analysis, CS was a risk factor for ASD/ADHD in offspring compared with VD.

C-section increases cecal abundance of the archetypal bile acid and glucocorticoid modifying Lachnoclostridium [clostridium] scindens in mice

In humans and animal models, Cesarean section (C‐section) has been associated with alterations in the taxonomic structure of the gut microbiome. These changes in microbiota populations are hypothesized to impact immune, metabolic, and behavioral/neurologic systems and others. It is not clear if birth mode inherently changes the microbiome, or if C‐section effects are context‐specific and involve interactions with environmental and other factors. To address this and control for potential confounders, cecal microbiota from ~3 week old mice born by C‐section (n = 16) versus natural birth (n = 23) were compared under matched conditions for housing, cross‐fostering, diet, sex, and genetic strain. A total of 601 unique species were detected across all samples. Alpha diversity richness (i.e., how many species within sample; Chao1) and evenness/dominance (i.e., Shannon, Simpson, Inverse Simpson) metrics revealed no significant differences by birth mode. Beta diversity (i.e., differences between samples), as estimated with Bray‐Curtis dissimilarities and Aitchison distances (using log[x + 1]‐transformed counts), was also not significantly different (Permutational Multivariate ANOVA [PERMANOVA]). Only the abundance of Lachnoclostridium [Clostridium] scindens was found to differ using a combination of statistical methods (ALDEx2, DESeq2), being significantly higher in C‐section mice. This microbe has been implicated in secondary bile acid production and regulation of glucocorticoid metabolism to androgens. From our results and the extant literature we conclude that C‐section does not inherently lead to large‐scale shifts in gut microbiota populations, but birth mode could modulate select bacteria in a context‐specific manner: For example, involving factors associated with pre‐, peri‐, and postpartum environments, diet or host genetics.