Diet and Probiotics

Since the role of the gut microbiota during pubertal development is largely unexplored, this 2019 study tested the effects of probiotics on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced immune responses in CD1 mice undergoing puberty. The probiotics reduced LPS-induced sickness behaviour at 12-hours post-treatment in females and at 48-hours post-treatment in males. Among female mice, changes in body weight induced by LPS were also reduced after 48 hours post-consumption. Probiotic intake influenced and prevented various effects of LPS, including increased pro- and anti-inflammatory peripheral cytokines (at 8-hours after consumption), and changes in the gut microbiota. One single exposure to lipopolysaccharides during puberty led to depression-like behaviour in female mice, and anxiety-like behaviour in male mice in adulthood. But the probiotics in fact prevented such behaviors in both the male and female mice. Overall, these results suggest that the gut microbiome plays a major role in pubertal neurodevelopment. Murray et al. conclude that exposure to probiotics during puberty mitigates inflammation and decreases stress-induced vulnerabilities to emotional behaviours later in life, in a sex-specific manner.