Search

Searching. Please wait…

Microbiota regulates visceral pain in the mouse

Abstract: The perception of visceral pain is a complex process involving the spinal cord and higher order brain structures. Increasing evidence implicates the gut microbiota as a key regulator of brain and behavior, yet it remains to be determined if gut bacteria play a role in visceral sensitivity. We used germ-free mice (GF) to assess visceral sensitivity, spinal cord gene expression and pain-related brain structures. GF mice displayed visceral hypersensitivity accompanied by increases in Toll-like receptor and cytokine gene expression in the spinal cord, which were normalized by postnatal colonization with microbiota from conventionally colonized (CC). In GF mice, the volumes of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and periaqueductal grey, areas involved in pain processing, were decreased and enlarged, respectively, and dendritic changes in the ACC were evident. These findings indicate that the gut microbiota is required for the normal visceral pain sensation.

 Fuente: eLife 2017;6:e25887

 Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications

 Year of publication: 2017

 No. of pages: 21

 Publication type: Article

 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.25887

 ISSN: 2050-084X

Authorship

LUCZYNSKI, PAULINE

VIOLA, MARIA

SHANAHAN, FERGUS

CLARKE, GERARD

O´MAHONY, SIOBHAIN

DINAN, TIMOTHY G.

CRYAN, JOHN F.