Ketogenic diet alters microglial morphology and changes the hippocampal lipidomic profile distinctively in stress susceptible versus resistant male mice upon repeated social defeat
Date
2023
Authors
González Ibáñez, Fernando
Halvorson, Torin
Sharma, Kaushik
McKee, Chloe
Carrier, Micaël
Picard, Katherine
Vernoux, Nathalie
Bisht, Kanchan
Deslauriers, Jessica
Lalowski, Maciej
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
bioRxiv
Abstract
Psychological stress confers an increased risk for several diseases including psychiatric conditions. The susceptibility to psychological stress is modulated by various factors, many of them being modifiable lifestyle choices. The ketogenic diet (KD) has emerged as a dietary regime that offers positive outcomes on mood and health status. Psychological stress and elevated inflammation are common features of neuropsychiatric disorders such as certain types of major depressive disorder. KD has been attributed anti-inflammatory properties that could underlie its beneficial consequences on the brain and behavior. Microglia are the main drivers of inflammation in the central nervous system. They are known to respond to both dietary changes and psychological stress, notably by modifying their production of cytokines and relationships among the brain parenchyma. To assess the interactions between KD and the stress response, including effects on microglia, we examined adult male mice on control diet (CD) versus KD that underwent 10 days of repeated social defeat (RSD) or remained non-stressed (controls; CTRLs). Through a social interaction test, stressed mice were classified as susceptible (SUS) or resistant (RES) to RSD. The mouse population fed a KD tended to have a higher proportion of individuals classified as RES following RSD. Microglial morphology and ultrastructure were then analyzed in the ventral hippocampus CA1, a brain region known to present structural alterations as a response to psychological stress. Distinct changes in microglial soma and arborization linked to the KD, SUS and RES phenotypes were revealed. Ultrastructural analysis by electron microscopy showed a clear reduction of cellular stress markers in microglia from KD fed animals. Furthermore, ultrastructural analysis showed that microglial contacts with synaptic elements were reduced in the SUS compared to the RES and CTRL groups. Hippocampal lipidomic analyses lastly identified a distinct lipid profile in SUS animals compared to CTRLs. These key differences, combined with the distinct microglial responses to diet and stress, indicate that unique metabolic changes may underlie the stress susceptibility phenotypes. Altogether, our results reveal novel mechanisms by which a KD might improve the resistance to psychological stress.
Description
We thank all the personal of the animal facility of Centre de Recherche CHU de Quebec Université Laval. We are grateful to the UVic Genome BC Proteomics Center for the lipidomic MS experiments. We also acknowledge with respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the University of Victoria stands and the Songhees, Esquimalt and
W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.
Keywords
Ketogenic diet, repeated social defeat, psychological stress, hippocampus, microglia, electron microscopy, lipidomics
Citation
González Ibáñez, F., Halvorson, T., Sharma, K., McKee, C., Carrier, M., Picard, K., ... Tremblay, M-È. (2023). Ketogenic diet alters microglial morphology and changes the hippocampal lipidomic profile distinctively in stress susceptible versus resistant male mice upon repeated social defeat. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.28.555135