Spinal cord injury-induced neurogenic bowel: A role for host-microbiome interactions in bowel pain and dysfunction

Spinal cord injury (SCI) affects roughly 300,000 Americans with 17,000 new cases added annually. In addition to paralysis, 60% of people with SCI develop neurogenic bowel (NB), a syndrome characterized by slow colonic transit, constipation, and chronic abdominal pain. The knowledge gap surrounding NB mechanisms after SCI means that interventions are primarily symptom-focused and largely ineffective. The goal of the present studies was to identify mechanism(s) that initiate and maintain NB after SCI as a critical first step in the development of evidence-based, novel therapeutic treatment options.

Following spinal contusion injury at T9, we observed alterations in bowel structure and function reflecting key clinical features of NB. We then leveraged tissue-specific whole transcriptome analyses (RNAseq) and fecal 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in combination with histological, molecular, and functional (Ca²⁺ imaging) approaches to identify potential mechanism(s) underlying the generation of the NB phenotype.

In agreement with prior reports focused on SCI-induced changes in the skin, we observed a rapid and persistent increase in expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression in the colon. This is suggestive of a neurogenic inflammation-like process engaged by antidromic activity of below-level primary afferents following SCI. CGRP has been shown to disrupt colon homeostasis and negatively affect peristalsis and colon function. As predicted, contusion SCI resulted in increased colonic transit time, expansion of lymphatic nodules, colonic structural and genomic damage, and disruption of the inner, sterile intestinal mucus layer corresponding to increased CGRP expression in the colon. Gut microbiome colonization significantly shifted over 28 days leading to the increase in Anaeroplasma, a pathogenic, gram-negative microbe. Moreover, colon specific vagal afferents and enteric neurons were hyperresponsive after SCI to different agonists including fecal supernatants.

Our data suggest that SCI results in overexpression of colonic CGRP which could alter colon structure and function. Neurogenic inflammatory-like processes and gut microbiome dysbiosis can also sensitize vagal afferents, providing a mechanism for visceral pain despite the loss of normal sensation post-SCI. These data may shed light on novel therapeutic interventions targeting this process to prevent NB development in patients.