- Dodiya, Hemraj B;
- Lutz, Holly L;
- Weigle, Ian Q;
- Patel, Priyam;
- Michalkiewicz, Julia;
- Roman-Santiago, Carlos J;
- Zhang, Can Martin;
- Liang, Yingxia;
- Srinath, Abhinav;
- Zhang, Xulun;
- Xia, Jessica;
- Olszewski, Monica;
- Zhang, Xiaoqiong;
- Schipma, Matthew John;
- Chang, Eugene B;
- Tanzi, Rudolph E;
- Gilbert, Jack A;
- Sisodia, Sangram S
We previously demonstrated that lifelong antibiotic (ABX) perturbations of the gut microbiome in male APPPS1-21 mice lead to reductions in amyloid β (Aβ) plaque pathology and altered phenotypes of plaque-associated microglia. Here, we show that a short, 7-d treatment of preweaned male mice with high-dose ABX is associated with reductions of Aβ amyloidosis, plaque-localized microglia morphologies, and Aβ-associated degenerative changes at 9 wk of age in male mice only. More importantly, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from transgenic (Tg) or WT male donors into ABX-treated male mice completely restored Aβ amyloidosis, plaque-localized microglia morphologies, and Aβ-associated degenerative changes. Transcriptomic studies revealed significant differences between vehicle versus ABX-treated male mice and FMT from Tg mice into ABX-treated mice largely restored the transcriptome profiles to that of the Tg donor animals. Finally, colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) inhibitor-mediated depletion of microglia in ABX-treated male mice failed to reduce cerebral Aβ amyloidosis. Thus, microglia play a critical role in driving gut microbiome-mediated alterations of cerebral Aβ deposition.