Acute brain injury in stroke is modulated by commensal gut bacteria, according to new research. Benakis et al. found that antibiotic treatment in mouse models of stroke substantially reduced infarct volume in these animals compared with control animals. This protective effect was attributed to reduced migration of intestinal IL-17-producing γδ T cells, which were found to travel from the gut to the brain meninges following stroke injury in control but not immune-compromised animals. These findings provide more evidence of a microbiota–gut–brain axis and suggest that gut microbiota promote a harmful neuroinflammatory response in stroke.
References
Benakis, C. et al. Commensal microbiota affects ischemic stroke outcome by regulating intestinal γδ T cells. Nat. Med. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm.4068 (2016)
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Ridler, C. Gut bacteria affect post-ischaemic inflammation in stroke by modulating intestinal T cells. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 13, 250 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2016.64
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2016.64
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