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- calendar_today October 29, 2026
New Insights Into the Link Between Spinal Cord Injury and Gut Microbes
Scientists at The Ohio State University have unveiled new research detailing how spinal cord injury (SCI) can significantly alter the gut microbiome, with implications for inflammation, immune function, and overall health. Their work, published in NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes and Communications Biology, sheds light on the complex interplay between the nervous system and the trillions of microbes inhabiting the gut.
Mapping Changes in the Gut Microbiome After SCI
The Ohio State team employed advanced genome-level analyses to catalog microbial communities in the mouse gut both before and after spinal cord injury. By comparing groups of male and female mice with varying degrees of spinal cord lesions to those with undamaged spinal cords, the researchers tracked changes in gut bacteria over six months.
Dr. Phillip Popovich, co-senior author and professor of neuroscience at Ohio State, noted, “We tend to think of spinal cord injury as a problem that begins and ends in the spinal cord, but our work suggests that we need to think much more broadly.” He highlighted that disruption to the spinal cord can have far-reaching effects, changing the relationship between gut microbes and the body, especially the immune system.
Key Findings: Inflammation, Weight Loss, and Microbial Diversity
One significant discovery was the depletion of specific strains of gut bacteria following spinal cord injury in mice. The research team found that reintroducing a particularly depleted bacterial species, Lactobacillus johnsonii, to mice after SCI lowered inflammatory markers and helped stabilize weight loss. However, the researchers cautioned that adding back just one bacterial strain may not fully restore gut function, suggesting that combination probiotic therapies may be more effective.
The studies also identified 19 microbial species with strong associations to nitrogen loss following SCI, a mechanism linked to muscle wasting in humans. Notably, this imbalance was seen mainly in injured male mice, where the loss of bacteria able to convert certain compounds into usable nitrogen contributed to disrupted muscle signaling.
Gut Microbes and Recovery: Microbial Interactions Matter
The collaboration between neuroscientists and microbiologists allowed the assembly of draft genomes representing 80% of the mouse gut microbiome—a "gut catalog." This unprecedented dataset encompasses 6,635 microbial genomes, including viruses potentially influencing bacterial dynamics.
Dr. Kristina Kigerl, who co-led both studies, underscored the significance of these microbial interactions, stating that the interplay between different bacteria—and between bacteria and their host—is key to understanding and developing interventions. “Simply adding back bacteria without knowing their relationship with other microbes won’t solve all the issues,” explained Mohamed Mohssen, co-author of the studies.
Broader Implications for Neurological Diseases
While the research focused on traumatic spinal cord injuries, the findings extend to a broad array of neurological diseases. Disruption of nerves connecting the brain, spinal cord, and internal organs is common to many disorders, including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and ALS. According to Dr. Popovich, understanding gut changes in response to nervous system disruption may reveal mechanisms relevant to these conditions and point to feasible treatment options.
Importantly, the gut is more accessible to intervention than the brain or spinal cord, raising the potential for safe and well-tolerated therapies, such as probiotic treatments, to mitigate SCI complications or improve recovery from other neurological diseases.
Support and Collaborators
This research was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Belford Center for Spinal Cord Injury, the Ray W. Poppleton Research designated endowment, the Craig H. Nielsen Foundation, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the Center for Microbiome Science at Ohio State. Additional Ohio State team members included Jingjie Du, Garrett Smith, and Jan Schwab.
Source: news.osu.edu.
