Monotonous Diets Protect Against Acute Colitis in Mice

Abstract

OBJECTIVES Multiple characteristics of industrialization have been proposed to contribute to the global emergence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs: Crohn disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]). Major changes in eating habits during the past decades and the effectiveness of exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) in the treatment of CD indicate the etiologic importance of dietary intake in IBDs. A uniform characteristic of nutrition in developing countries (where the incidence of IBD is low) and EEN is their consistent nature over prolonged periods. However, the potentially beneficial effect of dietary monotony in respect to mammalian intestinal inflammation has not been examined. METHODS The association between alternating (two different complete chows) and persistent regular diets, and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis susceptibility in C57BL/6J mice was studied. Colonic mucosal microbiota changes were investigated by high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. RESULTS The severity of colitis increased upon dietary alternation compared to consistent control feeding. The microbiota of the alternating nutritional group clustered discretely from both control groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight that monotonous dietary intake may decrease mammalian vulnerability against colitis in association with microbiota separation. The epidemiologic and therapeutic implications of our results are also discussed.

Prenatal Methyl-Donor Supplementation Augments Colitis in Young Adult Mice

“…The gut microbiome is an anticipated factor in IBD pathogenesis [31,32] and dietary influences can modify its composition [22]. In the meantime, little is known about prenatal environmental/dietary effects (i.e.…”

“…At the end of the experiment, colonic lengths were measured. Histological severity of inflammation was determined by a blinded pathologist based upon a colitis scoring system modified from Albert, et al [21,22]. …”

Microbiome–Epigenome Interactions and the Environmental Origins of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

“…The consumption of acetate (a major component of pickling), for instance, has been shown to be protective against murine colitis(29). Additionally, we have highlighted the potential for increased dietary diversity to possibly contribute to IBD pathogenesis based on a murine colitis model and human epidemiology(30). Consequently, decreased consumption of pickled foods and increased dietary diversity resulting from the expansion of refrigeration may be important contributors to its association with IBD development (in addition to the hypothesized cold-chain effect).…”

New therapeutic avenues in ulcerative colitis: thinking out of the box

“…In two mouse models of colitis, other investigators showed that introducing a diversified diet (in an attempt to replicate a more diverse and westernised type of diet) compared with a monotonous diet increased the severity of colitis. This was accompanied by microbiome changes—namely, a reduction in bacteria diversity 146. Devkota et al 147 have shown that offering a diet rich in saturated fat to mice resulted in alterations in the pool of BAs which, in turn, stimulated the growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria that have been implicated in IBD.…”