Biology subjects

Quillard, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Quillard, M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Role of the gut microbiota in the remodelling of the jejunal, colonic, hepatic and blood proteomes in a mouse model of Anorexia Nervosa

Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a typical form of eating disorder characterized by a severe body weight loss, a fear of gaining weight and dysmorphophobia. This disorder is associated with both psychiatric comorbidities and multi-organ dysfunctions. Increasing evidence suggests a role of the gut microbiota in the onset or maintenance of AN. Although a dysbiosis has been reported in patients with AN, the physiological consequences of this dysbiosis remain poorly documented. To gain further insight into the role of the gut microbiota in the pathophysiology of AN, we used the murine Activity-based Anorexia (ABA) model and compared the remodelling of the jejunal, colonic, hepatic and blood proteomes occurring in male mice with intact gut microbiota, as well as in gut microbiota-depleted animals. Results: We observed a significant proteome remodelling in several organs in response to the ABA model. More than 250 proteins involved in energy metabolism, catabolic processes, lipid metabolism, ghrelin regulation, and immune functions were found to show altered abundance in ABA mice compared to control mice. We observed in addition in the blood of ABA mice a significant increase in the level of circulating proteasome. By comparing mice treated or not with antibiotics, we identified 75 proteins whose regulation in ABA mice is gut-microbiota dependent. The other identified proteins were similarly affected in ABA mice with intact or depleted gut microbiota, suggesting that these factors are mainly regulated by food starvation and physical activity, and not directly by the gut microbiota. We finally confirmed that ORM2, a protein identified as significantly decreased in the plasma of ABA mice, is also decreased in the blood of patients suffering from AN. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that the Activity-Based Anorexia model is associated with an extensive proteome remodelling in several organs and tissues. We highlight in addition that some of these targets are regulated in a gut microbiota-dependent manner, thereby reinforcing the hypothesis of a role of the gut microbiota in Anorexia Nervosa. Together, our study provides a valuable resource to better delineate the impact of undernutrition and maladaptive physical activity on the proteome of various organs and the role of the gut bacteria in the pathophysiology of Anorexia Nervosa.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2025

Characterisation of changes in the gut microbiota associated with eating disorders

BackgroundEating disorders are serious pathologies that often begin in adolescence or young adulthood and persist for a significant period of time, with a strong negative impact on patients quality of life and mortality. The etiological origins of eating disorders are complex and involve both biological, psychological and societal factors. The gut microbiota was recently proposed as one of the potential factors involved in eating disorders. To gain a better understanding of the potential role of the gut microbiota in these diseases, we used 16S rRNA sequencing to compare the composition of the faecal microbiota of patients with all typical forms of eating disorders, i.e. anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder, with that of healthy individuals. ResultsOur results demonstrate that each type of eating disorder is associated with a specific gut bacterial signature. We observed, for example, a decrease in the relative abundances of Agathobacter and Romboutsia genera and an increase in Pseudomonas in patients with anorexia, while patients with binge-eating disorder exhibit a decrease in the relative abundances of Akkermansia and Intestinimonas and an increase in Streptococcus, Eggerthella and Proteus. We also highlight a heterogeneity of gut microbiota composition in different subcategories of eating disorders, such as restricting versus binge-purge type anorexia or typical versus atypical binge-eating disorder. By focusing on the comorbidities reported by patients, we finally identified several bacterial taxa, such as Acidaminococcus and Eggerthella, whose level correlates with the occurrence of anxiety or depressive-like symptoms. ConclusionsTogether, our work demonstrates that eating disorders are associated with specific changes in gut microbiota composition and highlight the necessity to finely stratify patients to identify robust microbial signatures. In addition, we identified bacterial taxa correlating with comorbidities and decreased quality of life reported by patients. Our results now pave the way for determining the predictive value of the abundance of these taxa on the duration of the pathology or on the likelihood of relapse. They also constitute a valuable resource to further demonstrate the causal role of the gut microbiota in the onset or chronicisation of eating disorders.

microbiology↗