Source Paper
Zhe Zhao, Jingwen Ning, Xiu-qi Bao, Meiyu Shang, Jingwei Ma et al.
Microbiome • 2021
Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, displaying not only well-known motor deficits but also gastrointestinal dysfunctions. Consistently, it has been increasingly evident that gut microbiota affects the communication between the gut and the brain in PD pathogenesis, known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis. As an approach to re-establishing a normal microbiota community, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has exerted beneficial effects on PD in recent studies. Here, in this study, we established a chronic rotenone-induced PD mouse model to evaluate the protective effects of FMT treatment on PD and to explore the underlying mechanisms, which also proves the involvement of gut microbiota dysbiosis in PD pathogenesis via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Results We demonstrated that gut microbiota dysbiosis induced by rotenone administration caused gastrointestinal function impairment and poor behavioral performances in the PD mice. Moreover, 16S RNA sequencing identified the increase of bacterial genera Akkermansia and Desulfovibrio in fecal samples of rotenone-induced mice. By contrast, FMT treatment remarkably restored the gut microbial community, thus ameliorating the gastrointestinal dysfunctions and the motor deficits of the PD mice. Further experiments revealed that FMT administration alleviated intestinal inflammation and barrier destruction, thus reducing the levels of systemic inflammation. Subsequently, FMT treatment attenuated blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment and suppressed neuroinflammation in the substantia nigra (SN), which further decreased the damage of dopaminergic neurons. Additional mechanistic investigation discovered that FMT treatment reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels in the colon, the serum, and the SN, thereafter suppressing the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway and its downstream pro-inflammatory products both in the SN and the colon. Conclusions Our current study demonstrates that FMT treatment can correct the gut microbiota dysbiosis and ameliorate the rotenone-induced PD mouse model, in which suppression of the inflammation mediated by the LPS-TLR4 signaling pathway both in the gut and the brain possibly plays a significant role. Further, we prove that rotenone-induced microbiota dysbiosis is involved in the genesis of PD via the microbiota-gut-brain axis.
Objective: Measurement of intestinal transit distance to assess gastrointestinal motility in mice
This is a Intestinal Transit Test protocol using mouse as the model organism. The procedure involves 9 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 3 materials. Extracted from a 2021 paper published in Microbiome.
Model and subjects
mouse • C57BL/6J • male • 8 weeks • 20-22 g • 45
Study window
~6 week study window
Core workflow
Animal acclimation • Baseline group assignment • Rotenone treatment phase
Primary readouts
Key equipment and reagents
Verified items
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Mice were acclimated to standard laboratory conditions with 12-hour light/dark cycle, temperature 22±2°C, humidity 50-60%, with ad libitum access to food and water
Note: Humidity maintained at 50-60%. All procedures followed guidelines from Beijing Municipal Ethics Committee
“The mice were then acclimatized (12-h light/dark cycle) under standard conditions (temperature 22 ± 2 °C, humidity 50–60%) with ad libitum access to food and water for 7 days”
45 mice randomly assigned into two groups: control group (n=15) and model group (n=30)
Note: Random assignment performed at beginning of study
“A total of 45 mice were randomly assigned into two groups: the control group (n = 15) and the model group (n = 30)”
Model group received daily oral administration of rotenone. Control group received vehicle administration daily
Note: This phase establishes the Parkinson's disease-like model
“In the beginning 4 weeks, the model group received the oral administration of rotenone every day. Meanwhile, the control group mice were administrated with vehicle”
After 4 weeks, model group mice were randomly divided into two groups: Rotenone group (n=15) and FMT group (n=15)
Note: Control group remained unchanged
“After 4 weeks, we randomly divided the model group mice into two groups: Rotenone group (n = 15) and FMT group (n = 15)”
FMT group received fecal microbiota transplant once per day. Control group and Rotenone group received vehicle administration once per day
Note: Treatment administered during weeks 5 and 6 of the study
“During week 5 and 6, the mice in the FMT group were treated with FMT once per day. In the meantime, the control group and the rotenone group mice received vehicle administration once a day”
All mice were weighed daily throughout the study period
Note: Weight measurements recorded from week 1 through week 6
“These mice were daily weighed for 6 weeks”
Measurement of intestinal transit distance to assess gastrointestinal motility. Test performed at week 6
Note: n=5 replicates in each group for this measurement
“GI function tests and behavioral tests were performed at week 6”
Rota-Rod test, Adhesive removal test, Grip strength test, Pole test, Colon length measurement, Fecal water percentage analysis, and Fecal output measurement performed at week 6
Note: n=15 for behavioral tests and fecal analysis; n=5 replicates for intestinal transit and colon length
“GI function tests and behavioral tests were performed at week 6”
All mice were sacrificed at week 6 for further analysis
Note: Tissues collected for downstream analysis
“All the mice were sacrificed at week 6 for further analysis”
This section explains what the experiment is doing, which readouts matter, what the data artifacts usually look like, and how the analysis should flow from raw capture to reported result.
Measurement of intestinal transit distance to assess gastrointestinal motility in mice
Objective
Measurement of intestinal transit distance to assess gastrointestinal motility in mice
Subjects
From papermouse • C57BL/6J • male • 8 weeks • 20-22 g
Sample count
From paper45
Cohort notes
From paperMice purchased from Beijing Vital River Laboratory Animal Technology Co.
Animal acclimation (7 days)
Baseline group assignment
Rotenone treatment phase (4 weeks)
Secondary group assignment
Intestinal transit distance
From paperData presented as mean ± SD.
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Colon length
From paperData presented as mean ± SD.
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Water percentage of fecal pellets
From paperData presented as mean ± SD.
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Number of total fecal pellets
From paperData presented as mean ± SD.
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Intestinal transit distance
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Colon length
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Water percentage of fecal pellets
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Number of total fecal pellets
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Acquisition
Collect raw experimental outputs with enough metadata to preserve sample identity, condition, and timing.
Preprocessing / cleaning
Data presented as mean ± SD.
Scoring or quantification
Quantify the primary readouts for this experiment: Intestinal transit distance; Colon length; Water percentage of fecal pellets; Number of total fecal pellets.
Statistical comparison
Statistical method not yet structured for this page.
Reporting output
Report representative outputs alongside summary comparisons for Intestinal transit distance, Colon length, Water percentage of fecal pellets, Number of total fecal pellets.
Source links and direct wording from the methods section for validation and deeper review.
Citation
Zhe Zhao et al. (2021). Fecal microbiota transplantation protects rotenone-induced Parkinson’s disease mice via suppressing inflammation mediated by the lipopolysaccharide-TLR4 signaling pathway through the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Microbiome
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Evidence Quotes
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Evidence
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