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. 2023 Jul 12:19:1581-1592.
doi: 10.2147/NDT.S415098. eCollection 2023.

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Gut Microbiota and Fecal Metabolites in Rats with Poststroke Depression

Wa Cai #  1 , Xi-Fang Wei #  1 , Chen Hu  1 , Jun Ji  2 , Hua Shun Cui  1 , Wei-Dong Shen  1
Affiliations

Effects of Electroacupuncture on Gut Microbiota and Fecal Metabolites in Rats with Poststroke Depression

Wa Cai et al. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. .

Abstract

Background: Poststroke depression (PSD) is the most frequent neuropsychiatric consequence of stroke. Electroacupuncture (EA) has been found to be an effective therapy for treating PSD. However, the underlying mechanisms of EA's efficacy remain unclear. This research aimed to investigate the effects of EA on alterations in gut microbiota and fecal metabolome in PSD rats.

Methods: Analyses of gut microbiome and fecal metabolome were performed to identify gut microbes and their functional metabolites in a sham group, PSD group, and EA group. We conducted enrichment analysis to identify the differential metabolic pathways in three groups. Correlations between altered gut microbes and differential metabolites after EA treatment were studied.

Results: PSD showed decreased species-richness/diversity indices of microbial composition, characterized by an increase in Muribaculaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Oscillospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Clostridiaceae and a decrease in Lactobacillaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Bacteroidaceae. Of these, the abundance of Muribaculaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, and Clostridiaceae were reversed by EA. Furthermore, PSD was associated with 34 differential fecal metabolites, mainly belonging to steroid hormone biosynthesis, that could be regulated by EA.

Conclusion: Regulation of gut microbiome and lipid metabolism could be one of the potential mechanisms for EA treatment for alleviating the depressive behaviors of PSD.

Keywords: electroacupuncture; fecal metabolome; gut microbiome; metabolic pathways; poststroke depression.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Time schedule of the experiment.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Acupoint locations of DU20 and DU24 on the rat body.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The therapeutic effect of EA treatment on depressive behaviors of PSD rats. (A) Sucrose preference; (B) locomotion counts (n=8 per group, one-way ANOVA for (A and B). **P<0.01.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of EA on species diversity and richness in PSD rats. (A–C) Species richness indices (Ace, Chao and Sobs); (D and E) species diversity indices (Shannon and Simpson). Eight per group, Wilcoxon rank-sum test for (A-E).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Effects of EA on microbial composition in PSD rats. (A) PCoA analysis at the OUT level (n=8 per group, Adonis analysis). (B) Microbiota discrimination (PSD vs sham, n=8 per group, Wilcoxon rank-sum test). (C) Microbiota discrimination (EA vs PSD, n=8 per group, Wilcoxon rank-sum test). (D) Taxonomic composition of gut microbiota at the family level; (n=8 per group, Bonferroni post hoc analysis). *P<0.05; **P<0.01.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Effects of EA on fecal metabolites in PSD rats. (A) PLS-DA analysis (n=8 per group, principal-component analysis). (B) KEGG enrichment pathways (PSD vs sham, n=8 per group, Bonferroni post hoc analysis). (C) KEGG enrichment pathways (EA vs PSD, n=8 per group, Bonferroni post hoc analysis).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Heat map of correlation coefficients of gut microbiota and fecal metabolites (n=8 per group, Spearman correlation analysis). *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001.
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