TY - JOUR
T1 - Specific changes in the mammalian gut microbiome as a biomarker for oxytocin-induced behavioral changes
AU - Dangoor, Itzhak
AU - Stanić, Dušanka
AU - Reshef, Leah
AU - Pešić, Vesna
AU - Gophna, Uri
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Prolonged exposure to psychiatric pharmacological agents is often associated with marked gastrointestinal phenomena, including changes in food intake, bowel motility, gastric emptying, and transit time. Those changes are reflected in the gut microbiota composition of the patient and can, therefore, be objectively measured. This is in contrast to the standard psychiatric evaluation of patients, which includes symptoms that are subjectively assessed (i.e., mood, anxiety level, perception, thought disorders, etc.). The association between a drug’s effect on the microbiota and psychiatric symptoms may allow for quantifiable surrogate markers of treatment effectiveness. Changes in the levels of specific drug-sensitive bacterial species can, thus, potentially serve as biomarkers for the intake and effectiveness of psychiatric drugs. Here, we show substantial microbiota changes that were associated with oxytocin administration and the decreased anxiety/depression-like behaviors it conferred in a rat model of corticosterone-induced stress. Compared with oxytocin, citalopram produced more minor effects on the rats’ microbiota. Alterations in the gut microbiota may, therefore, reflect the consumption and effectiveness of some psychiatric drugs.
AB - Prolonged exposure to psychiatric pharmacological agents is often associated with marked gastrointestinal phenomena, including changes in food intake, bowel motility, gastric emptying, and transit time. Those changes are reflected in the gut microbiota composition of the patient and can, therefore, be objectively measured. This is in contrast to the standard psychiatric evaluation of patients, which includes symptoms that are subjectively assessed (i.e., mood, anxiety level, perception, thought disorders, etc.). The association between a drug’s effect on the microbiota and psychiatric symptoms may allow for quantifiable surrogate markers of treatment effectiveness. Changes in the levels of specific drug-sensitive bacterial species can, thus, potentially serve as biomarkers for the intake and effectiveness of psychiatric drugs. Here, we show substantial microbiota changes that were associated with oxytocin administration and the decreased anxiety/depression-like behaviors it conferred in a rat model of corticosterone-induced stress. Compared with oxytocin, citalopram produced more minor effects on the rats’ microbiota. Alterations in the gut microbiota may, therefore, reflect the consumption and effectiveness of some psychiatric drugs.
KW - Biomarker
KW - Gut-brain axis
KW - Microbiome
KW - Oxytocin
KW - Psychiatry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114648124&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/microorganisms9091938
DO - 10.3390/microorganisms9091938
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C2 - 34576833
AN - SCOPUS:85114648124
SN - 2076-2607
VL - 9
JO - Microorganisms
JF - Microorganisms
IS - 9
M1 - 1938
ER -