The gut microbiota in mouse models of inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

The intestine and the intestinal immune system have evolved through a symbiotic homeostasis under which a highly diverse microbial flora is maintained in the gastrointestinal tract while pathogenic bacteria are recognized and eliminated. Disruption of the balance between the immune system and the gut microbiota results in the development of multiple pathologies in humans. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) have been associated with alterations in the composition of intestinal flora but whether these changes are causal or result of inflammation is still under dispute. Various chemical and genetic models of IBD have been developed and utilized to elucidate the complex relationship between intestinal epithelium, immune system and the gut microbiota. In this review we describe some of the most commonly used mouse models of colitis and Crohn's disease (CD) and summarize the current knowledge of how changes in microbiota composition may affect intestinal disease pathogenesis. The pursuit of gut-microbiota interactions will no doubt continue to provide invaluable insight into the complex biology of IBD.

Cecal microbiota association with tumor load in a colorectal cancer mouse model

“…Mouse models have been used to address several gut microbiota-associated diseased states, such as obesity [7] and inflammation-associated diseases [8]. Furthermore, mouse models have been used to examine the correlation between gut microbiota and aging [9], as well as the role of the gut microbiota in the host’s susceptibility to colonic tumorigenesis [10,11].…”

Parallels Between Mammals and Flies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“…7.1). Mouse models of IBD are traditionally used due to the high degree of conservation between the human and the mouse intestinal tract (Wirtz and Neurath 2007;Gkouskou et al 2014). Nevertheless, key principles of mammalian inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis can be recapitulated and new aspects of disease have been proposed using Drosophila models (Apidianakis and Rahme 2011;Panayidou and Apidianakis 2013).…”

The role of IL-10 in microbiome-associated immune modulation and disease tolerance

“…Deficiency in IL-10 production or signaling may impact the microbiome, especially in the gut [138,139]. Microbiota of IL-10-deficient mice can differ between facilities [140], underlining the importance of the characterization of the microbiome in this model.…”