Preclinical and clinical evidence of the association of colibactin-producing Escherichia coli with anxiety and depression in colon cancer

Figure 4 Anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in wild-type mice chronically infected with colibactin-producing Escherichia coli. A and B: Anxiety-like behavior assessed using the elevated plus maze test at 14 DPI; A: Entry frequency and B: time spent in the open arms of wild-type (WT) control and infected mice (n = 12 per group); C: Immobility time during the forced swimming test of WT control and infected mice (n = 12 per group) at 35 DPI; D-F: WT control and infected (n = 6 per group) mice were placed in a PhenoTyper^® device at 20 DPI and recorded for 24 h to assess spontaneous behavior in a representative experiment; D and E: Total digging (D) and sniffing times (E) determined over 24 h; F and G: Mean digging (F) and sniffing times (G) measured only during the 12-h dark period. The white circles represent WT control mice, while the black circles represent infected mice. Statistical analysis: Student’s t test: ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001, ^dP < 0.0001.