Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42271018›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2026

Disruption of the spinal cord-gut axis alters microbial dynamics and carbohydrate cross-feeding in the gut.

Mohamed Mohssen, Ahmed A Zayed, Kristina A Kigerl, Jingjie Du, Garrett J Smith, Jan M Schwab, Matthew B Sullivan, Phillip G Popovich

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Mohamed Mohssen *The Interdisciplinary Biophysics Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7687-7007
Ahmed A Zayed *Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Kristina A Kigerl *Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Jingjie DuDepartment of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Garrett J SmithDepartment of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1014-5102
Jan M SchwabDepartment of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Matthew B SullivanThe Interdisciplinary Biophysics Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. sullivan.948@osu.edu.ORCID 0000-0001-8398-8234
Phillip G PopovichCenter of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. phillip.popovich@osumc.edu.ORCID 0000-0003-1329-7395

Funding

Overcoming Neurogenic “Meta-Inflammation” to Promote Recovery After Spinal Cord InjuryR35NS111582 · NINDS · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI PHILLIP G POPOVICH · 2019 to 2026
$8.7M
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation (Neilsen Foundation) 890085National Science Foundation (NSF) ABI#2149505National Science Foundation (NSF) DBI#2022070NINDS NIH HHS R35 NS111582
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spinal cord-gut communication regulates gut bacteria, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Previous studies relied primarily on gene markers with limited functional analysis or genome-resolved snapshots from small cohorts. Here, we assessed microbiome dynamics via genome-resolved metagenomics on 333 samples from male and female C57BL/6 mice collected before and up to six months after surgical disruption of the spinal cord-gut axis. This resulted in 6,635 microbial draft genomes as a foundation for a new "Mouse B6 Gut Catalog" that significantly expands species and strain representation for this widely used laboratory mouse strain. Sampling revealed that disrupted spinal cord-gut signaling causes persistent, lesion-severity-, sex-, and time-specific shifts in microbial community composition, with consistent depletion of Lactobacillus johnsonii. Feeding purified L. johnsonii to spinal cord-injured mice prevented metabolic defects and systemic inflammation caused by disruption of the spinal cord-gut axis. Analyses using genome-resolved and community-based metabolic profiling indicated altered carbohydrate sharing and utilization of gut microbes, potentially depleting L. johnsonii, providing a genome-inferred mechanism for future hypothesis testing. This study improves murine microbiome catalogs, illustrates how metagenome-informed microbial interventions can provide a mechanistic understanding to improve host health, and underscores the vital role of a healthy spinal cord in regulating gut ecosystem function.

Indexed as

Carbohydrate MetabolismGastrointestinal MicrobiomeSpinal CordSpinal Cord InjuriesAnimalsFemaleMaleMetagenomeMetagenomicsMiceMice, Inbred C57BL

Identifiers

PMID42271018
PMCPMC13597515

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.