Project description:BackgroundHomeostasis of the gastrointestinal tract depends on a healthy bacterial microbiota, with alterations in microbiota composition suggested to contribute to diseases. To unravel bacterial contribution to disease pathology, a thorough understanding of the microbiota of the complete gastrointestinal tract is essential. To date, most microbial analyses have either focused on faecal samples, or on the microbial constitution of one gastrointestinal location instead of different locations within one individual.ObjectiveWe aimed to analyse the mucosal microbiome along the entire gastrointestinal tract within the same individuals.MethodsMucosal biopsies were taken from nine different sites in 14 individuals undergoing antegrade and subsequent retrograde double-balloon enteroscopy. The bacterial composition was characterised using 16 S rRNA sequencing with Illumina Miseq.ResultsAt double-balloon enteroscopy, one individual had a caecal adenocarcinoma and one individual had Peutz-Jeghers polyps. The composition of the microbiota distinctively changed along the gastrointestinal tract with larger bacterial load, diversity and abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in the lower gastrointestinal tract than the upper gastrointestinal tract, which was predominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes.ConclusionsWe show that gastrointestinal location is a larger determinant of mucosal microbial diversity than inter-person differences. These data provide a baseline for further studies investigating gastrointestinal microbiota-related disease.
Project description:The gastrointestinal tract is covered by a single layer of epithelial cells that, together with the mucus layers, protect the underlying tissue from bacterial invasion. The epithelium has one of the highest turnover rates in the body, renewing every 4-5 days. Using stable isotope labelling, high-resolution mass spectrometry and computational analysis, we report here a comprehensive dataset of the turnover rate of 3041 and the expression of 5012 intestinal epithelial cell proteins, analyzed under conventional and germ-free conditions across five different segments in mouse intestine. The median protein half-life was shorter in small intestine compared to colon, ranging from 3.5 to 4.2 days. Differences in protein turnover rates along the intestinal tract can be explained by distinct physiological functions and site-specific immune responses between the small and large intestine. Absence of microflora resulted in increased protein half-life by approximately one day.
Project description:The epithelial layer of the gastrointestinal tract is the body’s first line of defense against gut pathogens. However, our current understanding of the innate immune response of the epithelial layer is limited. For this study, we used gastrointestinal organoids which have the advantage of being primary, non-transformed epithelium that retains organ-specific characteristics in culture, and also that they lack any confounding immune cells. We systematically profiled the transcriptomes of gastrointestinal epithelial cells using a newly generated biobank of human and murine GI organoids grown from tissue-resident stem cells, providing an atlas of gene expression along the GI tract of both species. RNA sequencing of all lines confirmed the preservation of tissue identity, and in addition revealed extensive organization of innate immune signaling components along the cephalocaudal axis, endowing a specific innate immune profile to each segment.
Project description:This experiment tests the primary metabolites at four different points along the gastrointestinal tract of a dog. The four points being tested were the duodenum, ileum, colon, and rectum.
Project description:This experiment tests the primary metabolites at four different points along the gastrointestinal tract of a dog. The four points being tested were the duodenum, ileum, colon, and rectum.
Project description:The microbiota is extremely important for the animal's health, but, to date, knowledge on the intestinal microbiota of the rabbit is very limited. This study aimed to describe bacterial populations that inhabit the different gastrointestinal compartments of the rabbit: stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, and colon. Samples of the luminal content from all compartments of 14 healthy New White Zealand rabbits were collected at slaughter and analyzed using next generation 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing. The findings uncovered considerable differences in the taxonomic levels among the regions of the digestive tract. Firmicutes were the most abundant phylum in all of the sections (45.9%), followed by Bacteroidetes in the large intestine (38.9%) and Euryarchaeota in the foregut (25.9%). Four clusters of bacterial populations were observed along the digestive system: (i) stomach, (ii) duodenum and jejunum, (iii) ileum, and (iv) large intestine. Caecum and colon showed the highest richness and diversity in bacterial species, while the highest variability was found in the upper digestive tract. Knowledge of the physiological microbiota of healthy rabbits could be important for preserving the health and welfare of the host as well as for finding strategies to manipulate the gut microbiota in order to also promote productive performance.