Clostridium butyricum ameliorates Toxoplasma gondii-induced neuropsychiatric disorders by attenuating glial-mediated synaptic pruning via the gut-brain axis

Gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii)-induced neuropsychiatric disorders (TNDs); however, the underlying mechanisms remain largely elusive. Here, we identified the critical role of butyrate-producing bacteria in TNDs in mice. Decreased abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria was consistently observed in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and T. gondii-infected mice. Dietary supplementation with Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum), a gut commensal butyrate-producing bacterium, reversed gut microbiota dysbiosis, ameliorated intestinal barrier disruption and inflammation, and reduced endotoxemia. Coincidentally, C. butyricum administration suppressed microglial and astrocytic activation, rescued synaptic ultrastructure damage and synaptic loss, thus alleviating cognitive impairment and anxiety/depression-like behaviors. Mechanistically, C. butyricum treatment mitigated the abnormal synaptic pruning mediated by glial cells and C1q to prevent the neuropathology induced by T. gondii infection. Importantly, fecal microbiota transplantation from C. butyricum-supplemented mice into antibiotic-treated recipients recapitulated the therapeutic effects on gut and brain pathology observed in infected mice. Together, our findings suggest that C. butyricum ameliorates TNDs by modulating glial cell-mediated abnormal synaptic pruning via the gut-brain axis, highlighting the therapeutic potential efficacy of butyrate-producing bacteria against TNDs.