Dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in C57BL/6J mice increases their susceptibility to chronic unpredictable mild stress that induces depressive-like behavior

In patients with colitis, the high comorbidity of depressive disorders is well-known, but the detailed mechanisms remain unresolved. In this study, we examined whether colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) increased the susceptibility to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) in C57BL/6J mice with resilience to CUMS. To induce experimental colitis and depressive-like behaviors, male 7-weeks old C57BL/6J mice were administered ad libitum 1% DSS solution for 11 days, and subjected to various mild stressors in a chronic, inevitable and unpredictable way according to a random schedule for 21 days, respectively. In naïve mice exposed to CUMS, their immobility times in a forced swim (FS) test were almost equal to those in control mice. The DSS administration to naïve mice induced colitis without depressive-like behavior, and at 18 days after termination of the DSS administration, the colitis had recovered to control levels, while altered diversity and composition of bacterial genera such as Bacteroides spp., Alistipes spp., etc., were found in the gut microbiota. Exposure of mice with DSS-induced colitis to CUMS (DSS + CUMS) significantly increased the immobility times in the FS test. In the gut microbiota of DSS + CUMS mice, the alteration profile of the relative abundance of bacterial genera differed from in the DSS ones. These findings indicate that mice with colitis exhibit increased susceptibility to psychological stress, resulting in induction of depressive-like behavior, and this might be due, at least in part, to altered characteristics of the gut microbiota. •Naïve C57BL/6J mice were resilient to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)•Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) administration induced colitis in naïve C57BL/6J mice•Exposure of mice with DSS-induced colitis to CUMS induced depressive-like behavior•Altered profiles of gut microbiota of colitis mice may increase CUMS susceptibility