Gut mobility attenuation induced by antibiotics is associated with overactivation of enteric glial cells in mice

: Objective To explore the relationship between gut motility and enteric glial cell activation in antibiotics-treated mice. Methods We got the mice with lower intestinal flora through antibiotics (ABX) cocktails treatment, and compared gut mobility between ABX mice and control mice by detecting the time of carmine red going through gastrointestinal tract and the fecal pellets in the same time. Immunofluorescence histochemistry was used to detect the distribution of enteric glial cells and neurons in myenteric nerve plexus of the two groups of mice. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), S100B and nerve growth factor (NGF), which were related to enteric glial cell activation and function both in colon and ileum. The population of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and Th17 cells in intestinal lamina propria was assessed by flow cytometry. Results Antibiotics treatment induced a significant reduction of intestinal flora in the mice, which was accompanied by cecum volume expansion, colon shortening and gut motility attenuation. In addition, mRNA levels of GFAP, GDNF, S100B, and NGF in colon of ABX mouse gastrointestinal tract increased, while the population of Tregs and Th17 cells in colonic lamina propria decreased. Conclusion The attenuation of gut motility induced by antibiotics treatment may be related to the excessive activation of enteric glial cells. However, the activation of enteric glial cells after antibiotics treatment is not related to intestinal inflammation.