Fig. 5: Ceramides induce depressive-like phenotypes and dysregulate mitochondrial OXPHOS pathway. | npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

Fig. 5: Ceramides induce depressive-like phenotypes and dysregulate mitochondrial OXPHOS pathway.

From: Gut microbiota dysbiosis-mediated ceramides elevation contributes to corticosterone-induced depression by impairing mitochondrial function

Fig. 5

a Schematic for animal experimental procedures. b Comparison of the immobility time in the FST for the two groups of mice. c Comparison of the immobility time in the TST for the two groups of mice. d Representative images of EdU staining within the DG of hippocampus. e Quantitative analysis of EdU+ cell within the DG of the hippocampus. f mRNA expression level of Ki67. g Volcano plots of the DEGs between the two groups. The upregulated genes are presented by red dots, and the downregulated genes are presented by blue dots. h GSEA enrichment score curves of the top 3 GO pathways. The top panel shows the enrichment scores of each pathway. The middle vertical bars display the position of each gene. The bottom panel indicates the ranking metric scores. i Heatmap of 17 DEGs enriched in oxidative phosphorylation KEGG pathway. j The schematic of the underlying mechanism by which chronic exposure to CORT induces depressive-like behaviors. For behavioral tests, n = 15 for each group, comparisons were performed using Student’s t test. For the EdU test, n = 5 for each group, comparisons were performed using nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test. For RNA-seq data, n = 3 for each group. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Veh/C: group of mice treated with vehicle of ceramides; CerM group of mice treated with ceramides mixture. OFT open field test, EPM elevated plus maze, TST tail suspension test, FST forced swimming test, EdU-I EdU injection, AHN adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Scale bar: 100 μm.

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