Basal Diet Fed to Recipient Mice Was the Driving Factor for Colitis and Colon Tumorigenesis, Despite Fecal Microbiota Transfer From Mice With Severe or Mild Disease

Authors

Daphne Michelle Rodriguez Jimenez, Utah State UniversityFollow
Korry J. Hintze, Utah State UniversityFollow
Giovanni Rompato, Utah State UniversityFollow
Eliza C. Stewart, Utah State University
Abbey H. Barton, Utah State University
Emily Mortensen-Curtis, Utah State University
Porter A. Green, Utah State University
Arnaud J. Van Wettere, Utah State UniversityFollow
Aaron J. Thomas, Utah State UniversityFollow
Abby D. Benninghoff, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Author ORCID Identifier

Abbey H. Barton https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1458-6738

Arnaud J. Van Wettere https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9611-1316

Abby D. Benninghoff https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7993-0117

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Nutrients

Volume

15

Issue

6

Publisher

MDPI AG

Publication Date

3-9-2023

First Page

1

Last Page

28

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Consumption of the total Western diet (TWD) in mice has been shown to increase gut inflammation, promote colon tumorigenesis, and alter fecal microbiome composition when compared to mice fed a healthy diet, i.e., AIN93G (AIN). However, it is unclear whether the gut microbiome contributes directly to colitis-associated CRC in this model. The objective of this study was to determine whether dynamic fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) from donor mice fed either the AIN basal diet or the TWD would alter colitis symptoms or colitis-associated CRC in recipient mice, which were fed either the AIN diet or the TWD, using a 2 × 2 factorial experiment design. Time-matched FMT from the donor mice fed the TWD did not significantly enhance symptoms of colitis, colon epithelial inflammation, mucosal injury, or colon tumor burden in the recipient mice fed the AIN diet. Conversely, FMT from the AIN-fed donors did not impart a protective effect on the recipient mice fed the TWD. Likewise, the composition of fecal microbiomes of the recipient mice was also affected to a much greater extent by the diet they consumed than by the source of FMT. In summary, FMT from the donor mice fed either basal diet with differing colitis or tumor outcomes did not shift colitis symptoms or colon tumorigenesis in the recipient mice, regardless of the basal diet they consumed. These observations suggest that the gut microbiome may not contribute directly to the development of disease in this animal model.

Recommended Citation

Rodriguez, D.M.; Hintze, K.J.; Rompato, G.; Stewart, E.C.; Barton, A.H.; Mortensen-Curtis, E.; Green, P.A.; Van Wettere, A.J.; Thomas, A.J.; Benninghoff, A.D. Basal Diet Fed to Recipient Mice Was the Driving Factor for Colitis and Colon Tumorigenesis, despite Fecal Microbiota Transfer from Mice with Severe or Mild Disease. Nutrients 2023, 15, 1338. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061338