Sepsis-Induced Gut Dysbiosis Mediates the Susceptibility to Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy in Mice

ABSTRACT Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is common in septic patients and is associated with adverse outcomes. The gut microbiota has been recognized as a key mediator of neurological disease development. However, the exact role of the gut microbiota in regulating SAE remains elusive. Here, we investigated the role of the gut microbiota in SAE and its underlying mechanisms. Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was conducted to induce sepsis in mice. Neurological scores were recorded to distinguish SAE-resistant (SER) (score of >6 at 36 h postoperatively) from SAE-susceptible (SES) (score of ≤6 at 36 h postoperatively) mice. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics analyses were used to characterize the gut microbiota in the two groups. Fecal microbiota transplantation was performed to validate the role of the gut microbiota in SAE progression. The gut microbiota was more severely disrupted in SES mice than in SER mice after sepsis modeling. Interestingly, mice receiving postoperative feces from SES mice exhibited more severe cortical inflammation than mice receiving feces from SER mice. Indole-3-propionic acid (IPA), a neuroprotective molecule, was more enriched in feces from SER mice than in feces from SES mice. IPA alleviated CLP-induced anxiety and spatial memory impairment in septic mice. Moreover, IPA markedly inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated microglia. These responses were attenuated after antagonizing the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Our study indicates that the variability in sepsis-induced gut dysbiosis mediates the differential susceptibility to SAE in CLP-induced experimental sepsis mice, and microbially derived IPA is possibly involved in SAE development as a neuroprotective compound. IMPORTANCE The bidirectional interactions between the gut microbiota and sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) are not well characterized. We found that the gut microbiota was more severely disturbed in SAE-susceptible (SES) mice than in SAE-resistant (SER) mice after sepsis modeling. Mice gavaged with postoperative feces from SES mice exhibited more severe neuroinflammation than mice gavaged with feces from SER mice. The gut microbiota from SER mice enriched a neuroprotective metabolite, IPA, which appeared to protect mice from SAE. The potential underlying mechanism of the protective effect of IPA may be mediated via the inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-1β secretion in microglia. These anti-inflammatory effects of IPA may be regulated by aryl hydrocarbon receptors. These results enhance our understanding of the role of the intestinal microbiota in sepsis. In particular, gut microbiota-derived IPA may serve as a potential therapeutic agent to prevent neuroinflammation in SAE.