Oral and fecal microbiota perturbance in cocaine users: Can rTMS-induced cocaine abstinence support eubiosis restoration?

Elisabetta Gerace; Simone Baldi; Maya Salimova; Leandro Di Gloria; Lavinia Curini; Virginia Cimino; Giulia Nannini; Edda Russo; Marco Pallecchi; Matteo Ramazzotti; Gianluca Bartolucci; Brunella Occupati; Cecilia Lanzi; Maenia Scarpino; Giovanni Lanzo; Antonello Grippo; Francesco Lolli; Guido Mannaioni; Amedeo Amedei

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.106627

Oral and fecal microbiota perturbance in cocaine users: Can rTMS-induced cocaine abstinence support eubiosis restoration?

iScience. 2023 Apr 20;26(5):106627. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106627. eCollection 2023 May 19.

Authors

Elisabetta Gerace^{1

2}, Simone Baldi³, Maya Salimova⁴, Leandro Di Gloria⁵, Lavinia Curini³, Virginia Cimino¹, Giulia Nannini³, Edda Russo³, Marco Pallecchi¹, Matteo Ramazzotti⁵, Gianluca Bartolucci¹, Brunella Occupati⁴, Cecilia Lanzi⁴, Maenia Scarpino⁶, Giovanni Lanzo⁶, Antonello Grippo⁶, Francesco Lolli⁵, Guido Mannaioni^{1

4}, Amedeo Amedei^{3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
² Department of Health Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology and Oncology Unit, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy.
³ Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.
⁴ Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria di Careggi, Clinical Toxicology and Poison Control Centre, 50134 Florence, Italy.
⁵ Department of Biomedical, Experimental and Clinical Sciences "Mario Serio", University of Florence, 50134 Florence, Italy.
⁶ Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria di Careggi, Neurophysiology Unit, 50134 Florence, Italy.
⁷ Interdisciplinary Internal Medicine Unit, Careggi University Hospital, 50134 Florence, Italy.

Abstract

The effects of cocaine on microbiota have been scarcely explored. Here, we investigated the gut (GM) and oral (OM) microbiota composition of cocaine use disorder (CUD) patients and the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). 16S rRNA sequencing was used to characterize GM and OM, whereas PICRUST2 assessed functional changes in microbial communities, and gas-chromatography was used to evaluate fecal short and medium chain fatty acids. CUD patients reported a significant decrease in alpha diversity and modification of the abundances of several taxa in both GM and OM. Furthermore, many predicted metabolic pathways were differentially expressed in CUD patients' stool and saliva samples, as well as reduced levels of butyric acid that appear restored to normal amounts after rTMS treatment. In conclusion, CUD patients showed a profound dysbiotic fecal and oral microbiota composition and function and rTMS-induced cocaine abstinence determined the restoration of eubiotic microbiota.

Keywords: Microbiome; Substance of abuse.