Short-chain fatty acids attenuate brain injury by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory effects of microglia following traumatic brain injury
ZHANG Ziwen
WANG Kai
WANG Tinghao
WANG Jiahui
GE Shunnan
QU Yan
Abstract：Objective To explore the protective effect of short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs)on neurological function in traumatic brain injury(TBI)and explain its mechanism.Methods Fifty-four mice were randomly divided into TBI+SCFAs group,TBI group,and Sham group(n=18).The modeling was established using controlled cortical impact method.After successful modeling,the TBI+SCFAs group was given 100 mg/kg of SCFAs mixture by gavage every day,and the remaining two groups were given 10 mg/kg of normal saline in the same manner every day for 14 consecutive days.Behavioral experiments were used to evaluate the neurological deficits in mice.Brain edema of rats was assessed by brain water content measurement.Activation and apoptosis molecules of microglia around the injury were detected by immunofluorescence and TUNEL assay.Microglia were isolated from brain tissue by flow cytometry,and the transcript levels of relevant inflammatory factors in microglia were detected by qRT-PCR.The expression of inflammatory factors in cortical tissues around the injury was determined by ELISA.Result Compared with the TBI group,the TBI+SCFAs group exhibited a reduction in the pro-inflammatory effects of microglia(P＜0.01),decreased neuronal apoptosis(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),reduced expression of inflammatory factors(P＜0.01),alleviated brain edema(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and significant improvement in neurological dysfunction after TBI.Conclusion SCFAs can improve neurological dysfunction after TBI by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory effects of microglia.
Keywords：short-chain fatty acidstraumatic brain injurymicrogliagut microbial metabolites
Publication Date：2025-03-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 312-317 )