Table 1.
A summary of gut microbial changes after SCI in pre-clinical and human investigations.
| Study details | PCR gene primers | Microbial changes (vs. control) Phyla + lower taxonomic ranks | Intervention/Treatment | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-clinical studies |
Animal: Female C57BL/6 mice SCI: 75 kdyn T9 contusion (cont.) SCI Controls: T9 Laminectomy + naïve Timepoints: ≤ 28 days hard enterSeparately housed, no antibiotics. Food intake equilibrated across all animals. |
16s rRNA V4–V5 515F806R | ↑Firmicutes ↑ (o) Clostridiales ↓ Bacteroidetes ↓ (o) Bacteroidales |
VSL #3 probiotic ↓ Gut dysbiosis ↑ Functionalrecovery |
(54) |
|
Animal: Adult female Fischer rats SCI: moderate-severe T9 cont. SCI (weight drop: 10 g rod from 25.0 mm) Controls: T9 Laminectomy Timepoints: 8 weeks (wks) Co-housed in injured + non-injured pairs, 7-day gentamicin treatment. Ad libitum access to food and water. |
16s rRNA V4 Unknown primers | = α diversity Actinobacteria ↑ (f) Bifidobacteriaceae ↑ (s) B. choerinum Firmicutes ↑ (f) Clostridiaceae ↑ (s) C. disporcum ↓ (s) C. saccharogumia (f) Lactobacillaceae ↑ (s) L. intestinalis |
– | (50) | |
|
Animal: Adult female C57BL/6 mice SCI: 50 kdyn T9 cont. SCI Controls: T9 Laminectomy Timepoints: ≤ 6 weeks Co-housed in exp. group, no antibiotics |
16s rRNA V3–V5 (V4) Unknown primers | ↑ Increased bacterial load ↓Firmicutes ↑Bacteroidetes ↑Proteobacteria |
PDE4B−/−
KO mice ↓ Gut dysbiosis ↓ Neuroinflammation ↑ Functionalrecovery |
(53) | |
|
Animal: Adult female C57BL/6 mice SCI: 70 kdyn T10 cont. SCI Controls: T10 Laminectomy Timepoints: 28 days No antibiotics. Ad libitum access to food and water. |
16s rRNA V3–V4 338F 806R | ↑α diversity Firmicutes ↓ (o) Lactobacillales ↓ (g) Lactobacillus ↑ (o) Clostridiales ↑ (f) Lachnospiraceae Actinobacteria ↓ (o) Bifidobacterialis |
Melatonin ↓ Gut dysbiosis ↓ Leaky gut ↑ Functionalrecovery |
(55) | |
|
Animal: Adult female Lewis rats SCI: 125 kdyn unilateral C5 cont. SCI Controls: C5 Laminectomy and naïve Timepoints: preinjury, 3 days, 4 weeks Co-housed in exp. group; no antibiotics. Ad libitum access to food and water. |
16s rRNA V4 Unknown primers | ↑ α diversity in all groups at 3 dpi Significantly different OTUs (g/s level): 155 = SCI vs. healthy 40 = SCI vs. sham Analysis of phylogeneticdifferences in supplementary data |
Fecal Transplant ↓ Gut dysbiosis ↓ Anxiety-likebehavior |
(45) | |
| Human studies |
SCI: AIS grade A Cont. SCI Control: Healthy individuals Further comparisons: Upper motor neuron (UMN) + lower motor neuron (LMN) bowel syndrome Timepoints: ≥1 year post-injury 1–3 weeks standard diet, 3 weeks no antibiotics |
16s rRNA V4 515F 806R |
Firmicutes↓ (g) Pseudobutyrivibrio ↓ (g) Dialister (UMN) ↓ (g) Megamonas ↓ (g) Marvinbryantia (UMN vs. LMN) ↓ (g) Roseburia (LMN) |
– | (44) |
|
SCI: AIS grade A SCI Control: Healthy males Further comparisons: Quadriplegia (quad) vs. paraplegia (para) Timepoints: ≥ 6 months post-injury 2 weeks standard diet, 1 month no antibiotics |
16s rRNA V3–V4 338F 806R | ↓α diversity ↓Firmicutes (Quad vs. Healthyand Para) ↓ (g) Dialister ↓ (g) Megamonas ↓ (g) Eubacterium ↓ (g) Subdoligranium ↓ (g) Faecalibacteria (Quad) ↑ (g) Blautia ↑ (g) Lachnoclostridium ↑ (g) Phascolarctobacterium (Para) Bacteroidetes ↓ (g) Prevotella ↑ (g) Bacteroides ↑ (g) Parabacteroides (Para) ↑ Proteobacteria ↑ (g) Escheria/Shigella ↑Verrucomicrobia |
– | (14, 52)* *Same quadriplegic patient cohort |