Minocycline alters behavior, microglia and the gut microbiome in a trait-anxiety-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: Major depressive disorder is the main cause of disability worldwide with imperfect treatment options. However, novel therapeutic approaches are currently discussed, from augmentation strategies to novel treatments targeting the immune system or the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Therefore, we examined the potential beneficial effects of minocycline, a tetracycline antibiotic with pleiotropic, immunomodulatory action, alone or as augmentation of escitalopram on behavior, prefrontal microglial density, and the gut microbiome in rats selectively bred for high anxiety-like behavior (HAB). We show that concomitant with their high innate anxiety and depression, HABs have lower microglial numbers in the infralimbic and prelimbic prefrontal cortex and an altered gut microbiota composition compared wit

SUBMITTER: Schmidtner AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6744405 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature