Bacteroides uniformis CECT 7771 Modulates the Brain Reward Response to Reduce Binge Eating and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Rat

• Published in: Molecular neurobiology Vol. 58; no. 10; pp. 4959 - 4979
• Main Authors: Agustí, Ana, Campillo, Isabel, Balzano, Tiziano, Benítez-Páez, Alfonso, López-Almela, Inmaculada, Romaní-Pérez, Marina, Forteza, Jerónimo, Felipo, Vicente, Avena, Nicole M., Sanz, Yolanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-10-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Addictions; Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety - metabolism; Anxiety - therapy; Appetite; Bacteroides; Bacteroides - isolation & purification; Bacteroides - metabolism; Binge eating; Binge-Eating Disorder - metabolism; Binge-Eating Disorder - therapy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain - metabolism; Cell Biology; Digestive system; Dopamine; Dopamine D1 receptors; Dopamine D2 receptors; Eating disorders; Food intake; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Gastrointestinal tract; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Male; Microbiota; Microdialysis - methods; Neurobiology; Neurology; Neurosciences; Norepinephrine; Nucleus accumbens; Prefrontal cortex; Rats; Rats, Inbred WKY; Reinforcement; Reward; Serotonin; Microbiota; Binge eating; Dopamine; Reward system; Food addiction; CECT 7771; Gut–brain axis; Preclinical model; Bacteroides uniformis CECT 7771
• ISSN: 0893-7648; 1559-1182
• DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02462-2

Food addiction (FA) is characterized by behavioral and neurochemical changes linked to loss of food intake control. Gut microbiota may influence appetite and food intake via endocrine and neural routes. The gut microbiota is known to impact homeostatic energy mechanisms, but its role in regulating the reward system is less certain. We show that the administration of
Bacteroides uniformis
CECT 7771 (
B. uniformis
) in a rat FA model impacts on the brain reward response, ameliorating binge eating and decreasing anxiety-like behavior. These effects are mediated, at least in part, by changes in the levels of dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline in the nucleus accumbens and in the expression of dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the prefrontal cortex and intestine.
B. uniformis
reverses the fasting-induced microbiota changes and increases the abundance of species linked to healthy metabolotypes. Our data indicate that microbiota-based interventions might help to control compulsive overeating by modulating the reward response.