Project description:Changes in the gut microbiome can have profound effects on the nervous system through modulation of T cell and microglia function. Since our prior studies demonstrated that T cells and microglia positively regulate low-grade glioma growth through the establishment of T cell-microglia immune circuit, we sought to explore the impact of changes in the gut microbiota on tumor biology. For these studies, genetically engineered Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) optic glioma (Nf1-OPG) mice were raised in a germ-free environment or treated with antibiotics to deplete gut bacteria. First, we demonstrated that Nf1-OPG mice raised in a germ-free (gnotobiotic) environment or treated with specific antibiotics lacked optic gliomas and had improved OPG-induced retinal pathology (increased retinal nerve fiber layer thickness). Second antibiotic-treated Nf1-OPG mice gavaged with fecal microbiota from Nf1-OPG mice raised in a standard barrier facility restored optic glioma growth. Third, we showed that both germ-free and antibiotic-treated Nf1-OPG mice exhibited reduced intra-tumoral CD8+ T cell content resulting from decreased microglia chemokine production. Collectively, these findings establish a mechanistic relationship between the gut microbiota and brain tumor growth relevant to potential therapeutic interventions for pediatric low-grade gliomas.
Project description:Advanced age is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which is usually referred to as inflammaging. Elderly are also known to have an altered gut microbiota composition. However, whether inflammaging is a cause or consequence of an altered gut microbiota composition is not clear. In this study gut microbiota from young or old conventional mice was transferred to young germ-free mice. Four weeks after gut microbiota transfer immune cell populations in spleen, Peyer’s patches, and mesenteric lymph nodes from conventionalized germ-free mice were analyzed by flow cytometry. In addition, whole-genome gene expression in the ileum was analyzed by microarray. Gut microbiota composition of donor and recipient mice was analyzed with 16S rDNA sequencing. Here we show by transferring aged microbiota to young germ-free mice that certain bacterial species within the aged microbiota promote inflammaging. This effect was associated with lower levels of Akkermansia and higher levels of TM7 bacteria and Proteobacteria in the aged microbiota after transfer. The aged microbiota promoted inflammation in the small intestine in the germ-free mice and enhanced leakage of inflammatory bacterial components into the circulation was observed. Moreover, the aged microbiota promoted increased T cell activation in the systemic compartment. In conclusion, these data indicate that the gut microbiota from old mice contributes to inflammaging after transfer to young germ-free mice.
Project description:Background: Germ-free or axenic organisms are valuable tools for studying immunity, digestion, and development in different hosts. Although most of these studies have been conducted on mice, recently, germ-free invertebrate models (e.g. Drosophila and Apis) are used due to their easy husbandry, low cost for production, maintenance and the high number of individuals per generation they produce. However, a limitation of using these insects is the simple bacterial community present in their guts. The gut of the American cockroach Periplaneta americana displays a complex gut bacterial community composed of hundreds of species. Using P. americana, we developed a germ-free omnivorous invertebrate model to investigate how gut bacteria stimulate and shape normal gut development and metabolism. To determine if the insect host is directly affected by the presence of specific members of their bacterial community, gnotobiotic cockroaches were generated by inoculating a set of various P. americana gut-endemic Gram-negative (Bacteroidetes; n=11) and Gram-positive (Firmicutes; n=2) bacterial strains into germ-free insects. Additionally, we were able to recover the ‘normal’ bacterial-induced gut phenotype by co-housing germ-free cockroaches with wildtype P. americana to produce gut-bacteria conventionalized insects. Changes in gene expression profiles from two distinct regions (midgut and hindgut) of P. americana guts were quantified by RNA-Seq analysis of the germfree, gnotobiotic and conventionalized insects. Basic transcriptomics description: High-resolution transcriptome profiling of germ-free, gnotobiotic, and conventionalized treated P. americana midgut and hindguts. Ca. 43 million reads were obtained for each treatment. A de-novo assembly of all sequence reads was performed by Trinity assembler. Transcriptome assembly yielded 369,082 gene models and 554,155 isoforms. After running Trinotate pipeline, 65,047 (12 %) these transcripts matched an annotated product in at least one of the reference databases used (Uniprot, pfam, KEGG, COG). Additionally, 1,008 putative bacterial genes were annotated in the P. americana genome and ultimately excluded from these analyses. After bacteria decontamination, 553,147 assembled isoforms were used for transcript quantification and differential expression analysis using the DESeq2 pipeline. DESeq2 analysis detected 6,730 and 3,958 differentially expressed transcripts among the germ-free, gnotobiotic and conventionalized treatments in P. americana hindgut and midgut, respectively.
Project description:Gender bias and the role of sex hormones in autoimmune diseases are well established. In specific-pathogen free (SPF) non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice females have 1.3-4.4 times higher incidence of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Germ-free (GF) mice lose the gender bias (female/male ratio 1.1-1.2). Gut microbiota differed in males and females, a trend reversed by male castration, confirming that androgens influence gut microbiota. Colonization of GF NOD mice with defined microbiota revealed that some but not all lineages overrepresented in male mice supported a gender bias in T1D, and protection did not correlate with androgen levels. However, hormone-supported selective microbial lineage variation may work as a positive feedback mechanism contributing to the sexual dimorphism of autoimmune diseases. Gene expression analysis suggested pathways involved in protection of males from T1D by microbiota. We compared gene expression patterns in the pancreatic lymph nodes (PLNs) between four groups of mice (two genders in SPF and GF conditions, respectively). PLNs were isolated from 9-10 week old GF and SPF male and female NOD mice with 3 mice in each group, for a total of 12 samples.
Project description:Gender bias and the role of sex hormones in autoimmune diseases are well established. In specific-pathogen free (SPF) non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice females have 1.3-4.4 times higher incidence of Type 1 diabetes (T1D). Germ-free (GF) mice lose the gender bias (female/male ratio 1.1-1.2). Gut microbiota differed in males and females, a trend reversed by male castration, confirming that androgens influence gut microbiota. Colonization of GF NOD mice with defined microbiota revealed that some but not all lineages overrepresented in male mice supported a gender bias in T1D, and protection did not correlate with androgen levels. However, hormone-supported selective microbial lineage variation may work as a positive feedback mechanism contributing to the sexual dimorphism of autoimmune diseases. Gene expression analysis suggested pathways involved in protection of males from T1D by microbiota.
Project description:Microarray analyses were carried out to compare expression profile of microRNA and mRNA in colonic lamina propria mononuclear cells between germ-free and SPF mice. Germ-free mice showed higher levels of some microRNAs and lower expression of target mRNAs, suggesting that microRNAs mediate gut microbiota regulation of gut immunity.
Project description:Human diet emerges as a pivotal determinant of gut microbiota composition and function. Identification of the bacterial taxa targeted by diet derived factors with causal beneficial rather than detrimental effects on therapy and their mechanism of action is challenging but necessary for future clinical progress. The germ free mice colonized with human gut bacteria and four-plants derived nanoparticles uptaking bacteria were sorted with flow cytometry and identified with 16s rRNA next-generation sequencing.
Project description:This experiment was investigating how gut commensal bacteria and intestinal inflammation affect miRNA expression. We analyzed miRNA expression of spleen and intestine from specific pathogen free (SPF) B6 mice, germ-free (GF) B6 mice, and IL-10 knockout mice which have severe colitis by microarray. Thus we have total 6 samples: GF spleen; GF intestines; SPF spleen; SPF intestine; IL-10 KO spleen and IL-10 KO intestine. We directly isolated RNA from whole spleens or intestines without any treatments, and then did microarray analysis.
Project description:The objective of the study was identify hepatic genes with expression by deprivation of gut flora. Two models were used: model 1 (study 1443KR) examined germ-free Sprague Dawley and model 2 (1512KR) examined antibiotic treated Han Wistar rats. Germ-free vs. non-germ-free, antibiotic treated vs. untreated