Project description:Morphine causes microbial dysbiosis. In this study we focused on restoration of native microbiota in morphine treated mice and looked at the extent of restoration and immunological consequences of this restoration. Fecal transplant has been successfully used clinically, especially for treating C. difficile infection2528. With our expanding knowledge of the central role of microbiome in maintenance of host immune homeostasis17, fecal transplant is gaining importance as a therapy for indications resulting from microbial dysbiosis. There is a major difference between fecal transplant being used for the treatment of C. difficile infection and the conditions described in our studies. The former strategy is based on the argument that microbial dysbiosis caused by disproportionate overgrowth of a pathobiont can be out-competed by re-introducing the missing flora by way of a normal microbiome transplant. This strategy is independent of host factors and systemic effects on the microbial composition. Here, we show that microbial dysbiosis caused due to morphine can be reversed by transplantation of microbiota from the placebo-treated animals.
Project description:The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that replenishing the microbiota with a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) can rescue a host from an advanced stage of sepsis. We developed a clinically-relevant mouse model of lethal polymicrobial gut-derived sepsis in mice using a 4-member pathogen community (Candida albicans, Klebsiella oxytoca, Serratia marcescens, Enterococcus faecalis) isolated from a critically ill patient. In order to mimic pre-operative surgical patient condition mice were exposed to food restriction and antibiotics. Approximately 18 hours prior to surgery food was removed from the cages and the mice were allowed only tap water. Each mouse received an intramuscular Cefoxitin injection 30 minutes prior to the incision at a concentration of 25 mg/kg into the left thigh. Mice were then subjected to a midline laparotomy, 30% hepatectomy of the left lateral lobe of the liver and a direct cecal inoculation of 200 µL of the four pathogen community. On postoperative day one, the mice were administered rectal enema. Mice were given either 1 ml of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) or an autoclaved control (AC). This was again repeated on postoperative day two. Mice were then followed for mortality. Chow was restored to the cages on postoperative day two, approximately 45 hours after the operation. The injection of fecal microbiota transplant by enema significantly protected mice survival, reversed the composition of gut microflora and down-regulated the host inflammatory response. The cecum, left lobe of the liver, and spleen were isolated from mice for microarray processing with three or more replicates for six expermental conditions: non-treated control, SAHC POD1, SAHC.AC POD2, SAHC.FMT POD2, SAHC.AC POD7, SAHC.FMT POD7
Project description:This study aimed to analyze changes in gut microbiota composition in mice after transplantation of fecal microbiota (FMT, N = 6) from the feces of NSCLC patients by analyzing fecal content using 16S rRNA sequencing, 10 days after transplantation. Specific-pathogen-free (SPF) mice were used for each experiments (N=4) as controls.
Project description:Alterations in intestinal microbiota and intestinal short chain fatty acids profiles have been associated with the pathophysiology of obesity and insulin resistance. Whether intestinal microbiota dysbiosis is a causative factor in humans remains to be clarified We examined the effect of fecal microbial infusion from lean donors on the intestinal microbiota composition, glucose metabolism and small intestinal gene expression. Male subjects with metabolic syndrome underwent bowel lavage and were randomised to allogenic (from male lean donors with BMI<23 kg/m2, n=9) or autologous (reinfusion of own feces, n=9) fecal microbial transplant. Insulin sensitivity and fecal short chain fatty acid harvest were measured at baseline and 6 weeks after infusion. Intestinal microbiota composition was determined in fecal samples and jejunal mucosal biopsies were also analyzed for the host transcriptional response. Insulin sensitivity significantly improved six weeks after allogenic fecal microbial infusion (median Rd: from 26.2 to 45.3 μmol/kg.min, p<0.05). Allogenic fecal microbial infusion increased the overall amount of intestinal butyrate producing microbiota and enhanced fecal harvest of butyrate. Moreover, the transcriptome analysis of jejunal mucosal samples revealed an increased expression of genes involved in a G-protein receptor signalling cascade and subsequently in glucose homeostasis. Lean donor microbial infusion improves insulin sensitivity and levels of butyrate-producing and other intestinal microbiota in subjects with the metabolic syndrome. We propose a model wherein these bacteria provide an attractive therapeutic target for insulin resistance in humans. (Netherlands Trial Register NTR1776).
Project description:We found that low protein diet consumption resulted in decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in wild type mice, indicating that low protein diet could negatively affect Paneth cell function. We performed fecal microbiota composition profiling. Male mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Fecal samples were collected for microbiome analysis.
Project description:Significant gut microbiota heterogeneity exists amongst UC patients though the clinical implications of this variance are unknown. European and South Asian UC patients exhibit distinct disease risk alleles, many of which regulate immune function and relate to variation in gut microbiota β-diversity. We hypothesized ethnically distinct UC patients exhibit discrete gut microbiotas with unique luminal metabolic programming that influence adaptive immune responses and relate to clinical status. Using parallel bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS2 sequencing of fecal samples (UC n=30; healthy n=13), we corroborated previous observations of UC-associated depletion of bacterial diversity and demonstrated significant gastrointestinal expansion of Saccharomycetales as a novel UC characteristic. We identified four distinct microbial community states (MCS 1-4), confirmed their existence using microbiota data from an independent UC cohort, and show they co-associate with patient ethnicity and degree of disease severity. Each MCS was predicted to be uniquely enriched for specific amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism pathways and exhibited significant luminal enrichment of metabolic products from these pathways. Using a novel in vitro human DC/T-cell assay we show that DC exposure to patient fecal water led to MCS -specific changes in T-cell populations, particularly the Th1:Th2 ratio, and that patients with the most severe disease exhibited the greatest Th2 skewing. Thus, based on ethnicity, microbiome composition, and associated metabolic dysfunction, UC patients may be stratified in a clinically and immunologically meaningful manner, providing a platform for the development of FMC-focused therapy. Fecal microbiome was assessed with Affymetrix PhyloChip arrays from patients with ulcerative colitis and healthy controls.
Project description:The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that replenishing the microbiota with a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) can rescue a host from an advanced stage of sepsis. We developed a clinically-relevant mouse model of lethal polymicrobial gut-derived sepsis in mice using a 4-member pathogen community (Candida albicans, Klebsiella oxytoca, Serratia marcescens, Enterococcus faecalis) isolated from a critically ill patient. In order to mimic pre-operative surgical patient condition mice were exposed to food restriction and antibiotics. Approximately 18 hours prior to surgery food was removed from the cages and the mice were allowed only tap water. Each mouse received an intramuscular Cefoxitin injection 30 minutes prior to the incision at a concentration of 25 mg/kg into the left thigh. Mice were then subjected to a midline laparotomy, 30% hepatectomy of the left lateral lobe of the liver and a direct cecal inoculation of 200 µL of the four pathogen community. On postoperative day one, the mice were administered rectal enema. Mice were given either 1 ml of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) or an autoclaved control (AC). This was again repeated on postoperative day two. Mice were then followed for mortality. Chow was restored to the cages on postoperative day two, approximately 45 hours after the operation. The injection of fecal microbiota transplant by enema significantly protected mice survival, reversed the composition of gut microflora and down-regulated the host inflammatory response.
Project description:We found that western diet consumption resulted in decrease in the percentage of normal Paneth cell population in wild type mice, indicating that western diet could negatively affect Paneth cell function. Subsequent generations of western diet consumption further reduced percentages of normal Paneth cell population. We performed fecal microbiota composition profiling. Male mice were used at 4-5 weeks of age. Fecal samples were collected for microbiome analysis.