PCB-Exposed Gut Microbiota Recapitulate Neurobehavioral Deficits and Reprogram Hippocampal Transcriptomic Signatures

PCB-associated gut microbiota transplantation from Fox River PCB mixture–exposed dams (6.0 mg/kg/day) reduces offspring ultrasonic vocalizations at P7, matching direct maternal PCB exposure effects.

• Why it matters: It remains unclear whether PCB-linked gut microbiota can independently contribute to developmental neurotoxicity without direct chemical exposure, leaving a key mediator mechanism unresolved.
• What they did: Germ-free recipient females received fecal microbiota transplants from conventional donor dams exposed to FRM or vehicle; offspring were tested at P7 with USV, whole-brain RNA sequencing (n = 4/sex/group), and untargeted serum metabolomics.
• The result: Offspring brain transcriptomics showed many more differentially expressed genes in males (9,339) than females (1,082), with shared downregulation of neurotransmitter signaling and ion channel pathways and upregulation of RNA processing, alongside metabolite shifts in bile acids and indole-3-propionic acid.

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