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Dynamic flexibility of the murine gut microbiota during morphine disturbance enables escape from the stable dysbiosis that is associated with addiction-like behavior

delete2026-07-17
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OA
AI
I
Izabella Sall
R
Randi Foxall
L
Lindsey Felth
A
Anirudh Gaur
J
Jennifer L. Whistler *
C
Cheryl A. Whistler *
DOI:10.1080/19490976.2026.2691347delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
Although opioids are effective analgesics, they can lead to problematic drug use behaviors that underlie opioid use disorder (OUD). Opioids also cause gut microbiota dysbiosis, which is linked to altered opioid responses. We used a longitudinal paradigm of voluntary oral morphine self-administration to capture multiple facets of drug seeking and preserve both individual behavioral responses and individual gut microbiota variation to investigate the role of the gut microbiota in a mouse model of OUD. Although all the mice consumed morphine, only a subset of the mice that transitioned to a state we defined statistically as compulsive. In compulsive mice, morphine constricted natural variability and fragmented the microbiota community networks, which convergently reorganized to form robust novel connections post-morphine. In contrast, the more variable communities of non-compulsive mice were highly interconnected during morphine disturbance and displayed more continuity post-morphine, suggesting greater flexibility and adaptability. Compulsive mice displayed a greater loss of functional diversity and a shift in favor of potential pathobionts, whereas non-compulsive mice better preserved genera associated with gut health and broader functional diversity. These findings highlight the potential role of persistent and stable opioid-induced microbiota dysbiosis in long-term behavioral changes underlying OUD and contributing to vulnerability to relapse.
Keywords:
Microbiota
opioid
network analysis
compulsive behaviors
dysbiosis
opioid use disorder
morphine

Journal

Gut Microbes cover
Gut Microbes
IF:
11
Papers:
2.7K
Citations:
1.9W

Organization

U
university of california–davis
Scholars:
11
Papers: 3
Citations: 0
U
university of california davis
Scholars:
3.3W
Papers: 2.6W
Citations: 45
U
university of new hampshire
Scholars:
4.2K
Papers: 3.4K
Citations: 8
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