Fecal transplant prevents gut dysbiosis and anxiety-like behaviour after spinal cord injury in rats

Secondary manifestations of spinal cord injury beyond motor and sensory dysfunction can negatively affect a person’s quality of life. Spinal cord injury is associated with an increased incidence of depression and anxiety; however, the mechanisms of this relationship are currently not well understood. Human and animal studies suggest that changes in the composition of the intestinal microbiota (dysbiosis) are associated with mood disorders. The objective of the current study is to establish a model of anxiety following a cervical contusion spinal cord injury in rats and to determine whether the microbiota play a role in the observed behavioural changes. We found that spinal cord injury caused dysbiosis and increased symptoms of anxiety-like behaviour. Treatment with a fecal transplant prevented both spinal cord injury-induced dysbiosis as well as the development of anxiety-like behaviour. These results indicate that an incomplete unilateral cervical spinal cord injury can cause affective disorders and intestinal dysbiosis, and that both can be prevented by treatment with fecal transplant therapy.