TY  - JOUR
A1  -  Plesz Szonja Bianka
A1  -  Adlan Leatitia Gabriella
A1  -  Büki Alexandra
A1  -  Makra Nóra
A1  -  Ligeti Balázs
A1  -  Ágg Bence
A1  -  Szabó Dóra
A1  -  Zádori Zoltán S
A1  -  Ferdinandy Péter
A1  -  Horváth Gyöngyi
A1  -  Kékesi Gabriella
SN  - 0278-5846
EP  - 12
TI  - Dysbiosis is associated with the behavioral phenotype observed in the triple-hit Wisket rat model of schizophrenia
Y1  - 2025///
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnpbp.2025.111276
VL  - 137
JF  - PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
N2  - Comorbidities between gastrointestinal diseases and psychiatric disorders have been widely reported, with the gut-brain axis implicated as a potential biological basis. Thus, dysbiosis may play an important role in the etiology of schizophrenia, which is barely detected. Triple-hit Wisket model rats exhibit various schizophrenia-like behavioral phenotypes. The present study aimed to compare the diversity and abundance of gut microbiota in Wisket model and control rats; furthermore, to correlate the microbial taxonomic profiles to indices of behavioral change. Tail-flick and Ambitus tests were used to assess acute heat pain sensitivity, and record exploration and locomotor activity along with motivation in young adult, control and Wisket model rats. Fecal microbiota composition was profiled by deep sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA, and it was correlated to behavioral phenotype. Wisket rats exhibited significantly decreased pain sensitivity, lower locomotor activity and exploration, and impaired motivation compared with controls. No significant differences were observed in bacterial alpha diversity between the groups; however, clear differences in community structure were observed. Wisket rats showed decreases in several genera of Firmicutes and Saccharimonas, and increases in Bacteriodetes and Helicobacter phyla compared with controls. Correlation analysis revealed significant associations between the microbiota profile and the behavioral phenotype. This is the first demonstration that fecal microbiota composition is markedly altered in a triple-hit schizophrenia rat model, suggesting the contribution of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in the development of the schizophrenia-like behavioral phenotype. Thus targeting the gut microbiota may be a novel approach to treat such impairments.
AV  - public
ID  - publicatio35853
ER  -