Microbial fingerprinting detects unique bacterial communities in the faecal microbiota of rats with experimentally-induced colitis

Abstract

An abnormal composition of the gut microbiota is believed to be associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We utilized terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis to quantify faecal bacterial communities from rats with experimental colitis. Male Sprague Dawley rats (n=10/group) ingested 2% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) or water for up to 7 days. Rats were killed and colonic tissues collected for histological analysis. Damage severity score in the distal colon was significantly greater (P<0.001) following DSS consumption compared to controls. T-RFLP faecal bacterial profiles generated with either MspI or CfoI revealed a significant difference (P<0.001) in community composition between healthy and colitic rats, with bacterial composition in healthy rats more variable than in rats with colitis. Operational taxonomic units (OTU: taxonomically related groups of bacteria) associated with either the healthy or colitic state were identified. OTU (116, 226, 360, and 948; CfoI) and (118 and 188; MspI) were strongly associated with untreated healthy rats, while OTU (94, 98, 174, and 384; CfoI) and (94 and 914; MspI) were predominantly associated with DSS-treated colitic rats. Phylogenetic OTU assignment suggested that Bacteroidales and Lactobacillus sp. were predominantly associated with the colitic and healthy rats, respectively. These results show that faecal bacterial profiling is a rapid, sensitive and non-invasive tool for detecting and identifying changes in gut microbiota associated with colitis. Restoring microbial homeostasis by targeting colitis-associated OTU through specific microbiological interventions could form the basis of novel therapeutic strategies for IBD.

Lactobacillus reuteri F‐9‐35 Prevents DSS‐Induced Colitis by Inhibiting Proinflammatory Gene Expression and Restoring the Gut Microbiota in Mice

“…Alpha diversity is usually used to reflect the richness or diversity of bacterial community. Many studies have reported that DSS treatment caused decline in the bacterial diversity of fecal samples (Akira et al., ; Samanta, Torok, Percy, Abimosleh, & Howarth, ), whereas Lactobacillus intervention can improve the diversity (Rodríguez‐Nogales et al., ). This situation was similar to our results in caecal contents, although we failed to observe any statistical significance among the groups.…”

Microbial fingerprinting detects intestinal microbiota dysbiosis in Zebrafish models with chemically-induced enterocolitis

“…and Lactobacillus sp. were predominantly associated with the DSS-induced colitic and healthy rats, respectively [30]. Obviously, there were significant differences between the experimental sets from which samples were sourced.…”

Oxidative DNA damage in disease—Insights gained from base excision repair glycosylase‐deficient mouse models

“…On the basis of these observations in MutY 2/2 mice, it is possible that MUTY-mediated repair of misincorporated adenines across from 8-oxoG lesions may in fact be the trigger for colon carcinogenesis susceptibility in the OGG1-deficient background [Liao et al, 2008]. Additionally, it is now becoming clear that factors such as the composition of the gut microbiome may influence the severity of DSSinduced colitis [Rath et al, 2001;Berry et al, 2012;Lombardi et al, 2012;Samanta et al, 2012;De Fazio et al, 2014]. The gut microbiome composition has also been linked to risk for diseases such as obesity [reviewed in Ohtani et al, 2014].…”