Western-style diets have been implicated in triggering inflammatory bowel disease activity. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of a short-term diet high in sugar on susceptibility to colitis. Adult wild-type mice were placed on chow or a high sugar diet (50% sucrose) ± acetate. After two days of diet, mice were treated with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) to induce colitis. Disease severity was assessed daily. Colonic tissues were analyzed for cytokine expression using the MesoScale discovery platform. Intestinal dextran permeability and serum lipopolysaccharide levels (LPS) were measured. Gut microbiota were analyzed by 16s rRNA sequencing and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations by gas chromatography. Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) were incubated with LPS and cytokine secretion measured. Mice on a high sugar diet had increased gut permeability, decreased microbial diversity and reduced SCFA. BMDM derived from high sugar fed mice were highly responsive to LPS. High sugar fed mice had increased susceptibility to colitis and pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. Oral acetate significantly attenuated colitis in mice by restoring permeability. In conclusion, short term exposure to a high sugar diet increases susceptibility to colitis by reducing short-chain fatty acids and increasing gut permeability.

Alcohol related end-stage liver disease is a principal cause of liver failure. The scarcity of donor livers and the predominance of alcohol related end-stage liver disease has raised the issue of including alcoholics as candidates for liver transplantation. In rationalizing the arguments for and against the treatment of alcoholic end-stage liver disease with transplantation, factors such as recidivism, resource allocation and principles of medical practice must be considered. Public confidence in organ transplantation depends on the scientific validity and moral integrity of the policies adopted. Sound policies will prove defensible while policies based on perceptions or prejudices will, in the long run, harm the process.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract