Topic: ulcerative colitis

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; autism) are more susceptible to inflammatory disorders and gastrointestinal dysfunction, but the cause is unknown. We investigated gut permeability and the impact of acute inflammatory insult on gut function and behaviour in Nlgn3R451C mice expressing an autism-associated mutation in Neuroligin-3. Ex vivo intestinal permeability was assessed by measuring the passage of FITC across the mucosa from the lumen. To compare impacts of modulating the nervous system with immune pathway disruption, we bred Nlgn3R451C mice with mice lacking the interferon

Ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, is often associated with mental health disorders exacerbated by chronic stress. Environmental enrichment has been shown to alleviate stress and inflammation in mice, therefore we hypothesized that it may mitigate the adverse behavioral and neurobiological outcomes associated with experimental colitis. To study this, male and female mice were kept in 2 different housing conditions, conventional small cages (SE) or an enriched environment (EE), for 8 weeks. Subgroups were treated with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) to induce experimental c