Impact of a Model Used to Simulate Chronic Socio-Environmental Stressors Encountered during Spaceflight on Murine Intestinal Microbiota

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 21; no. 21; p. 7863
• Main Authors: Alauzet, Corentine, Cunat, Lisiane, Wack, Maxime, Lanfumey, Laurence, Legrand-Frossi, Christine, Lozniewski, Alain, Agrinier, Nelly, Cailliez-Grimal, Catherine, Frippiat, Jean-Pol
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.11.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Antibiotics; Astronauts; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteroidetes - classification; Bacteroidetes - genetics; Bacteroidetes - isolation & purification; Barnesiella; Case-Control Studies; chronic unpredictable mild stress; Digestive system; Disease Models, Animal; Dysbacteriosis; Dysbiosis - microbiology; Firmicutes - classification; Firmicutes - genetics; Firmicutes - isolation & purification; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Gene expression; gut microbiota; Homeostasis; Humans; Immune system; Immunology; Intestinal microflora; Intestine; Life Sciences; Male; Mice; Microbiology and Parasitology; Microbiota; Nervous system; Phylogeny; Principal components analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Space flight; Space Flight - psychology; Space missions; spaceflight; Stress; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - microbiology; Taxonomy; spaceflight; Barnesiella; chronic unpredictable mild stress; gut microbiota
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms21217863

During deep-space travels, crewmembers face various physical and psychosocial stressors that could alter gut microbiota composition. Since it is well known that intestinal dysbiosis is involved in the onset or exacerbation of several disorders, the aim of this study was to evaluate changes in intestinal microbiota in a murine model used to mimic chronic psychosocial stressors encountered during a long-term space mission. We demonstrate that 3 weeks of exposure to this model (called CUMS for Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress) induce significant change in intracaecal β-diversity characterized by an important increase of the / ratio. These alterations are associated with a decrease of , particularly of the genus , a major member of gut microbiota in mice and humans where it is described as having protective properties. These results raise the question of the impact of stress-induced decrease of beneficial taxa, support recent data deduced from in-flight experimentations and other ground-based models, and emphasize the critical need for further studies exploring the impact of spaceflight on intestinal microbiota in order to propose strategies to countermeasure spaceflight-associated dysbiosis and its consequences on health.