Immune cells (green) assemble in the outer coverings of a mouse’s brain, called the meninges, protecting it from a stroke’s full force. Gut bacteria modified the immune’ cells behavior to elicit that protective response. Credit: Corinne Benakis
New research from Weill Cornell Medicine can help mitigate stroke – the second leading cause of death worldwide. In the study mice received a combination of antibiotics. 2 weeks later, ischemic stroke was induced in them. Mice treated with antibiotics experienced a stroke that was about 60% smaller than rodents that did not receive the medication. The microbial environment in the gut directed the immune cells there to protect the brain from the stroke’s full force.
Modifying the microbiotic makeup of the gut can become an innovative method to prevent stroke. This could be especially useful to high-risk patients, like those undergoing cardiac surgery or those who have multiple obstructed blood vessels in the brain.
Immune cells from the gut made their way to the meninges, where they organized and directed a response to the stroke. “One of the most surprising findings was that the immune system made strokes smaller by orchestrating the response from outside the brain,” said Dr. Costantino Iadecola.
The newfound connection between the gut and the brain holds promising implications for preventing stroke in the future, which the investigators say might be achieved by changing dietary habits in patients or “at risk” individuals. “Dietary intervention is much easier to accomplish than drug use, and it could reach a broad base,” Dr. Anrather said. http://weill.cornell.edu/news/news/2016/03/gi-tract-bacteria-helps-decrease-stroke.html
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