Transfer of gut microbiota from lean and obese mice to antibiotic-treated mice

Merete Ellekilde, Ellika Selfjord, Christian S. Larsen, Maja Jakesevic, Ida Rune, Britt Tranberg,Finn K. Vogensen, Dennis S. Nielsen, Martin I. Bahl, Tine R. Licht, Axel K.Hansen & Camilla H. F.Hansen

SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | 4 : 5922 | DOI: 10.1038/srep05922

Speaker:Pei-Chun,Li(李姵君)              　　          Time:13:00~14:00,Nov.26,2014

Commentator: Jenn-Wei Chen, Ph.D.(陳振暐 教授)          Place:Room 601

Abstract:

Most study of gut microbiota transfer are performed in germ-free mice. In this study, it was tested whether an antibiotic treatment approach could be used instead. Transfer of gut microbiota, from lean and obese mice to antibiotic-treated mice may enable researchers to study phenotypes transfer between species. The authors transfered microbiota from lean and obese mice to conventional mice by depleting the existing gut microbiota with antibiotic treatment prior to inoculation. In addition, it’s known that the timing of inoculation to conventional recipients may be important¹. Thus, authors performed two studies : (1) a weaning study and (2) an adult study. C57BL/6 mice,  were inoculated at different age after ampicillin treatment, with a lean or obese mouse gut microbiota. Furthermore, changes in gut microbiota composition between the groups persisted until six weeks after inoculation were observed using DGGE, but it was not stable as the compositional characteristics of the recipient microbiota changed over time. The authors also investigated the minor changes in weight gain, food consumption, body fat pads, insulin production, and glucose tolerance in recipient, and observed that the gut microbiota may have a direct effect on β cells. As a result, inoculation of conventional antibiotic-treated mice with gut microbiota from lean or obese donors was possible and age independent. Further investigations using obese and non-treated recipients will further enlighten the possibility of alternatives to GF models. In addition, early life changes in gut microbiota, even in a limited time frame, have several times proven critical for the development of proper immune functions and pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases. It is therefore possible, that the approach presented in this paper would have a more pronounced outcome also in other disease models.

Reference:

1. Hansen, C. H. F. et al. Patterns of early gut colonization shape future immune responses of the host. Plos One 7, e34043–34043 (2012).