ArticleJournal of neuroinflammation2021
Rifaximin-mediated gut microbiota regulation modulates the function of microglia and protects against CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors in adolescent rat.
Article in Journal of neuroinflammation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 141 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
141 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 219 citations in OpenAlex.
- Circulating Short-Chain Fatty Acid (SCFA) profiles as a biomarker of gut-brain axis dysfunction: A meta-analysis for the SCFA signature in major depression.Biomedical journal · 2026Pooled it
- Changes of potential shorty-chain fatty acids producing bacteria in the gut of patients with spinal cord injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- New methods to unveil host-microbe interaction mechanisms along the microbiota-gut-brain-axis.Gut microbesPooled it
- Repurposing antimicrobial agents for neuroprotection: Mechanisms, clinical potential, and challenges.Neuroprotection (Chichester, England) · 2026Review
- Novel insight into the effects of the metabolites from gut microbiota in both unmedicated depressive adolescents and mice: key roles of indole derivatives-aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling in neurogenesis and microglial homeostasis.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Microglia and neuroinflammation: An in-depth analysis from functional diversity to disease mechanisms.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Review
- Short-chain fatty acids as key mediators of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion: mechanisms and therapeutics.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2026Review
- Exercise-Mediated Molecular Mechanisms of Antidepressant Effects: The Role of the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Recent Advances in the Brain-Gut Axis in the Development and Progression of Depression.Actas espanolas de psiquiatria · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota-driven metabolites modulate the development of stress-related mental disorders.Translational psychiatry · 2026Review
- From Iron to Depression: The Crosstalk Between the Periphery and Brain.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Review
- Vagal control of the brain-esophagus axis ameliorates stress-induced esophageal motility dysfunction in male mice.Molecular metabolism · 2026Article
- Rifaximin's therapeutic spectrum: approved indications and experimental insights into emerging uses.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2026Review
- Lanzhou Lily (Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Short-chain fatty acid-producing psychobiotics in mood disorders: mechanistic insights into the microbiota-gut-brain axis.Clinical nutrition research · 2026Article
- Encephalopathy: Cause, Pathogenesis, and Treatment.MedComm · 2026Review
- Electroacupuncture prevents CUMS induced depressive-like behaviors by inhibiting microglia-mediated synaptic pruning induced by gut dysbiosis.Chinese medicine · 2026Article
- Puerarin Alleviates Depression via Integrated Regulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB Signaling and Gut Microbiota-Metabolic Axis.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Probiotics as Modulators of Adult Neurogenesis and Synaptic Plasticity: New Perspectives in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Affective Disorders.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Muribaculum intestinale alleviates depressive-like behaviors by inhibiting Th17 cell differentiation and M1 microglia polarization.Microbiome · 2026Article
81 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) can not only lead to depression-like behavior but also change the composition of the gut microbiome. Regulating the gut microbiome can have an antidepressant effect, but the mechanism by which it improves depressive symptoms is not clear. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are small molecular compounds produced by the fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates. SFCAs are ubiquitous in intestinal endocrine and immune cells, making them important mediators of gut microbiome-regulated body functions. The balance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory microglia plays an important role in the occurrence and treatment of depression caused by chronic stress. Non-absorbable antibiotic rifaximin can regulate the structure of the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that rifaximin protects against stress-induced inflammation and depression-like behaviors by regulating the abundance of fecal microbial metabolites and the microglial functions.
methodsWe administered 150 mg/kg rifaximin intragastrically to rats exposed to CUMS for 4 weeks and investigated the composition of the fecal microbiome, the content of short-chain fatty acids in the serum and brain, the functional profiles of microglia and hippocampal neurogenesis.
resultsOur results show that rifaximin ameliorated depressive-like behavior induced by CUMS, as reflected by sucrose preference, the open field test and the Morris water maze. Rifaximin increased the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae, which were significantly positively correlated with the high level of butyrate in the brain. Rifaximin increased the content of anti-inflammatory factors released by microglia, and prevented the neurogenic abnormalities caused by CUMS.
conclusionsThese results suggest that rifaximin can regulate the inflammatory function of microglia and play a protective role in pubertal neurodevelopment during CUMS by regulating the gut microbiome and short-chain fatty acids.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.