Effects of Antibiotics on the Intestinal Microbiota of Mice

Abstract

Studies on human and mouse gastrointestinal microbiota have correlated the composition of the microbiota to a variety of diseases, as well as proved it vital to prevent colonization with resistant bacteria, a phenomenon known as colonization resistance. Antibiotics dramatically modify the gut community and there are examples of how antibiotic usage lead to colonization with resistant bacteria [e.g., dicloxacillin usage selecting for ESBL-producing E. coli carriage], as shown by Hertz et al. Here, we investigated the impact of five antibiotics [cefotaxime, cefuroxime, dicloxacillin, clindamycin, and ciprofloxacin] on the intestinal microbiota in mice. Five different antibiotics were each given to groups of five mice. The intestinal microbiotas were profiled by use of the IS-pro analysis; a 16S–23S rDNA interspace [IS]-region-based profiling method. For the mice receiving dicloxacillin and clindamycin, we observed dramatic shifts in dominating phyla from day 1 to day 5. Of note, diversity increased, but overall bacterial load decreased. For ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, and cefuroxime there were few overall changes. We speculate that antibiotics with efficacy against the abundant anaerobes in the gut, particularly Bacteroidetes, can in fact be selected for resistant bacteria, disregarding the spectrum of activity.

Enrofloxacin Alters Fecal Microbiota and Resistome Irrespective of Its Dose in Calves

“…Additionally, the number of calves carrying Campylobacter reduced remarkably after the treatment. This was demonstrated in a mouse study as well, where subcutaneously administered ciprofloxacin reduced Proteobacteria species in feces to below the detection limit, with minor effects on other phyla [ 30 ].…”

Alterations of Gut Microbiota and the Brain-Immune-Intestine Axis in Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis After Treatment With Oral Cladribine: Protocol for a Prospective Observational Study

“…An important advantage of this type of analysis is that the impact of confounding factors is small, because samples are derived from one subject. Changes in potentially confounding factors, such as diet or recent use of antibiotics, can be accounted for based on knowledge from previous studies [ 21 - 23 ]. Changes found using this analysis can be used to create insight into potentially useful parameters to predict response to treatment and can be used in the following approaches.…”

The Old, The New and The Future in Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

“…In favor of the non-use of antibiotics, it is said that they reduce the goodness of the transplant [44], as well as affect the quality of the Microbiota [45]. There is a meta-analysis that comments otherwise [46]. It is even noted that they improve the diversity of Bacteroidetes [47].…”