Comparing the effects of two different strains of mycobacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae NCTC 11659 and M. vaccae ATCC 15483, on stress-resilient behaviors and lipid-immune signaling in rats

Loupy, Kelsey M.; Cler, Kristin E.; Marquart, Brandon M; Yifru, Tumim W.; D’Angelo, Heather; Arnold, Mathew R.; Elsayed, Ahmed; Gebert, Matthew J.; Fierer, Noah; Frank, Marion E.; Zambrano, Cristian A.; Maier, Steven F.; Lowry, Christopher A.

doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2020.09.030

Cited by 13 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 160 publications

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“…It is suggested that individuals with BD are less securer and more anxious than healthy people in normal situation and that this it getting more severe under extreme situation. Individuals with BD are prone to react to stress more extensively (Stefana et al 2020 ), and this is in line with results of past epidemics and natural disasters (Esterwood and Saeed 2020 ) as well as recent longitudinal studies during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with affective disorders (Frank et al 2020 ; Pan et al 2020 ). The real development of COVID-19 pandemic effects on psychological conditions in patients with BD as a response to the crisis will be objects of further investigations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous studies evaluating psychiatric symptoms in individuals with severe mental illness including samples with BD have been published (Chang et al 2020 ; Costa et al 2020 ; Frank et al 2020 ; Hao et al 2020 ; Iasevoli et al 2020 ; Pan et al 2020 ; Riblet et al 2020 ; Solé et al 2021 ; Zou et al 2020 ). Rates of high perceived stress severity, anxiety, and severe depressive symptoms were significantly higher in psychiatric patients compared with controls (Frank et al 2020 ; Iasevoli et al 2020 , Solé et al 2021 ). In addition, patients reported on sleeping problems (Frank et al 2020 ) and fatigue (Zou et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rates of high perceived stress severity, anxiety, and severe depressive symptoms were significantly higher in psychiatric patients compared with controls (Frank et al 2020 ; Iasevoli et al 2020 , Solé et al 2021 ). In addition, patients reported on sleeping problems (Frank et al 2020 ) and fatigue (Zou et al 2020 ). A very recent study from Australia, focusing on psychosocial distress in patients with mood disorders, highlighted the maladaptive situational and lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 pandemic of this patient group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychological symptoms during and after Austrian first lockdown in individuals with bipolar disorder? A follow-up control-group investigation

Dalkner

Wagner-Skacel

Ratzenhofer

et al. 2021

Int J Bipolar Disord

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Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, a global health crisis, has resulted in widespread socioeconomic restrictions including lockdown, social distancing, and self-isolation. To date, little is known about the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown on patients with bipolar disorder as a particularly vulnerable group. Methods An online survey was conducted in Austria at two points of measurement (T1 April 2020 during the first lockdown vs. T2 May 2020 at post-lockdown). The sample comprises 20 patients with bipolar disorder (mean age = 49.4 ± 15.6 years) and 20 healthy controls (mean age = 32.7 ± 9.6 years). A 2 × 2 factorial design to compare two time points (T1 vs. T2) and two groups (patients vs. healthy controls) was used. Main outcome measures included the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) and a (non-validated and non-standardized) assessment to determine COVID-19 fears and emotional distress due to social distancing. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the longitudinal association of COVID-19 fears/emotional distress due to social distancing during lockdown (T1) and psychological symptoms after lockdown (T2). Results At T1, results demonstrated higher scores in BSI-18 subscales depression, anxiety and global severity index as well as emotional distress due to social distancing in bipolar patients compared to controls. There was a significant time x group interaction in the BSI-18 subscale somatization showing a decreasing trend in patients with BD compared to controls. No time effects in BSI-18 subscales or COVID-19 fears/emotional distress due to social distancing were observed. Regression analyses showed that COVID-19 fears during lockdown predicted somatization, only in patients. Conclusions There was a connection between the lockdown measures and somatization symptoms observed in patients. When the first steps of easing the social restrictions in May 2020 took place, somatization decreased only in the bipolar compared to the control group. Higher COVID-19 fears during lockdown predicted later symptoms at post-lockdown. Long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic need further investigations to improve current therapeutic approaches and prevent fears and distress during lockdown in individuals with bipolar disorder in times of crisis.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Psychological symptoms during and after Austrian first lockdown in individuals with bipolar disorder? A follow-up control-group investigation

Dalkner

Wagner-Skacel

Ratzenhofer

et al. 2021

Int J Bipolar Disord

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…“Old friends” fall into three main categories: (1) microorganisms associated with “old infections” that were common in human evolutionary past (helminths, Salmonella , Helicobacter pylori [ 12 , 13 ]); (2) microorganisms that were part of the human microbiota (gut, airway, skin, genitourinary, oropharyngeal; [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]); and (3) harmless microorganisms from the natural environment in water, air, and soil with which humans inevitably had regular contact (reviewed in [ 18 , 19 ]). Two such microorganisms attracting attention for their immunoregulatory effects are Mycobacterium vaccae National Collection of Type Cultures 11659 ( M. vaccae NCTC 11659) and Mycobacterium vaccae American Type Culture Collection 15483 Typestrain ( M. vaccae ATCC 15483 T ) [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. In the current article, we aim to provide a narrative review of the research history of these two immunoregulatory mycobacteria in a chronological way, starting with the first observational studies on their promising effects as tuberculosis (TB) vaccines up to the most recent studies indicating that these “old friends” have stress-protective effects and promote stress resilience.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapidly Growing Mycobacterium Species: The Long and Winding Road from Tuberculosis Vaccines to Potent Stress-Resilience Agents

Amoroso

Langgartner

Lowry

et al. 2021

IJMS

Self Cite

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Inflammatory diseases and stressor-related psychiatric disorders, for which inflammation is a risk factor, are increasing in modern Western societies. Recent studies suggest that immunoregulatory approaches are a promising tool in reducing the risk of suffering from such disorders. Specifically, the environmental saprophyte Mycobacterium vaccae National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) 11659 has recently gained attention for the prevention and treatment of stress-related psychiatric disorders. However, effective use requires a sophisticated understanding of the effects of M. vaccae NCTC 11659 and related rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGMs) on microbiome–gut–immune–brain interactions. This historical narrative review is intended as a first step in exploring these mechanisms and provides an overview of preclinical and clinical studies on M. vaccae NCTC 11659 and related RGMs. The overall objective of this review article is to increase the comprehension of, and interest in, the mechanisms through which M. vaccae NCTC 11659 and related RGMs promote stress resilience, with the intention of fostering novel clinical strategies for the prevention and treatment of stressor-related disorders.

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“…Similar beneficial effects on immune function have been observed with exercise and dietary changes, as discussed in section Environmental Influences on Resilience: Neurobiological Principles below. From a bottom-up perspective, animal models have shown that immunization with specific substances, such as myelin-related peptides ( Lewitus et al, 2008 ), and certain mycobacterial strains ( Reber et al, 2016 ; Loupy et al, 2021 ) can attenuate stress-induced anxiety and promote resilience via alterations in immune functioning, such as inhibition of stress-related increases in IL-6. The latter finding is of particular significance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has been noted that immunization against Mycobacterium tuberculosis exerts a potential protective effect against COVID-19 mortality ( Li, 2021 ) and trials of BCG immunization in healthcare workers for this purpose are in progress ( Junqueira-Kipnis et al, 2020 ; Madsen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Key Research Areas In the Neurobiology Of Resilience And Thementioning

confidence: 99%

Harnessing the Neurobiology of Resilience to Protect the Mental Well-Being of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Rajkumar

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Healthcare workers are at a high risk of psychological morbidity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is significant variability in the impact of this crisis on individual healthcare workers, which can be best explained through an appreciation of the construct of resilience. Broadly speaking, resilience refers to the ability to successfully adapt to stressful or traumatic events, and thus plays a key role in determining mental health outcomes following exposure to such events. A proper understanding of resilience is vital in enabling a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach for protecting and promoting the mental well-being of healthcare workers. Research in the past decade has identified six areas that provide promising leads in understanding the biological basis of individual variations in resilience. These are: (1) the key role played by the monoamines noradrenaline and serotonin, (2) the centrality of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in influencing stress vulnerability and resilience, (3) the intimate links between the immune system and stress sensitivity, (4) the role of epigenetic modulation of gene expression in influencing the stress response, (5) the role played by certain neuropeptides as a natural “brake” mechanism in the face of stress, and (6) the neurobiological mechanisms by which environmental factors, such as exercise, diet, and social support, influence resilience to subsequent life events. Though much of this research is still in its early stages, it has already provided valuable information on which strategies – including dietary changes, lifestyle modification, environmental modification, psychosocial interventions, and even pharmacological treatments – may prove to be useful in fostering resilience in individuals and groups. This paper examines the above evidence more closely, with a specific focus on the challenges faced by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides suggestions regarding how it may be translated into real-world interventions, as well as how the more tentative hypotheses advanced in this field may be tested during this critical period.

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Comparing the effects of two different strains of mycobacteria, Mycobacterium vaccae NCTC 11659 and M. vaccae ATCC 15483, on stress-resilient behaviors and lipid-immune signaling in rats

Cited by 13 publications

References 160 publications

Psychological symptoms during and after Austrian first lockdown in individuals with bipolar disorder? A follow-up control-group investigation

Psychological symptoms during and after Austrian first lockdown in individuals with bipolar disorder? A follow-up control-group investigation

Rapidly Growing Mycobacterium Species: The Long and Winding Road from Tuberculosis Vaccines to Potent Stress-Resilience Agents

Harnessing the Neurobiology of Resilience to Protect the Mental Well-Being of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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