Exploring the role of the gut microbiome in the development of psychiatric outcomes following blast polytrauma
Blast-induced outcomes, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are primarily studied in the context of the central nervous system. However, blast polytrauma is a full-body injury that also impacts the gastrointestinal tract and its 40 trillion resident microbes communicating with the brain via the gut-brain axis. The MGBA bidirectionally links emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal, endocrine, and inflammatory functions. The lab recently published evidence that blast-induced changes to the gut microbiome are associated with adverse outcomes, including increased PTSD-like symptoms in mice and Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. This evidence highlights the gut microbiome as a potential causal mechanism for adverse blast-induced outcomes and a potential therapeutic target, yet these possibilities remain unexplored.
To establish causality between gut microbiome composition and blast-induced PTSD-like behaviors, we are developing a novel fecal matter transplant (FMT) method with UW microbiologists to transfer fecal samples from blasted to naïve mice. Our “poopsicle” strategy aims to eliminate unnecessary physiological stress caused by traditional FMT methods in rodent research. Preliminary results suggest that blast-induced changes to gut microbiota drive increased PTSD-like behaviors. To assess the therapeutic potential of the gut microbiome, we will use FMT to feed blast mice feces from healthy mice and again measure adverse outcomes. Future work will apply computational approaches to analyze metagenomic sequencing data to design new pre/pro-biotic therapeutics.
