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Effect of a Humanized Diet Profile on Colonization Efficiency and Gut Microbial Diversity in Human Flora-Associated
Sashuang Dong1, BenHua Zeng2, Ling Hu1
1College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Human flora-associated (HFA) mouse models allow us to design interventions for human disease research to test specific hypotheses and explore the complex commensal microbiome while avoiding the ethical limitations of using humans as models to directly study intestinal flora diseases. However, few studies have investigated the effect of a humanized diet profile (coarse-feed diet; CFD) on colonization efficiency and gut microbial diversity in HFA mice. We tested the colonization efficiency and gut microbial diversity in germ-free Kunming (KM) mice fed a CFD or a purified feed diet (PFD) at 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Although the colonization efficiencies differed significantly (67.50-70.00% vs. 72.69-85.96%) in the HFA mice, the colonization efficiency of the PFD-fed HFA mice (85.96%) was significantly higher than that of the CFD-fed mice (69.61%) at 2 weeks. At 4 weeks, the colonization efficiency of the PFD-fed mice (72.69%) was comparable to that of the CFD-fed mice (70.00%). Additionally, the gut microbial diversity of the CFD-fed HFA mice was similar to that of a human fecal donor. Regarding the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes colonic microbiota metabolic pathways, the CFD-fed HFA mice showed more similarities to the human donor than to the PFD-fed mice in amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acids, carbon metabolism, purine metabolism, and phosphotransferase systems. In conclusion, the humanized diet profiles of the CFD and PFD could help establish human microbiotas in mice. Constructing HFA mouse models fed a CFD for 4 weeks may be useful in researching human-derived intestinal diseases.
Insights
Human flora-associated (HFA) mouse models fed a humanized coarse-feed diet (CFD) show gut microbial diversity similar to human donors. This model is promising for studying human intestinal diseases.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Gnotobiology
- Human Microbiome Research
Background:
- Human flora-associated (HFA) mouse models are valuable for studying the human microbiome and intestinal diseases.
- Limited research exists on the impact of humanized diets, like the coarse-feed diet (CFD), on HFA mouse models.
- Understanding diet effects is crucial for optimizing HFA models for disease research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the colonization efficiency and gut microbial diversity in germ-free mice fed a coarse-feed diet (CFD) versus a purified feed diet (PFD).
- To compare the gut microbial metabolic pathways of HFA mice on different diets with those of a human fecal donor.
- To determine the suitability of CFD-fed HFA mice for human intestinal disease research.
Main Methods:
- Germ-free Kunming (KM) mice were fed either a CFD or a PFD.
- Colonization efficiency and gut microbial diversity were assessed at 1, 2, and 4 weeks.
- Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) colonic microbiota metabolic pathways were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Colonization efficiency varied between diets, with PFD-fed mice showing higher initial efficiency, which normalized by 4 weeks.
- Gut microbial diversity in CFD-fed HFA mice closely resembled that of a human fecal donor.
- CFD-fed HFA mice exhibited metabolic pathway similarities to human donors, particularly in amino sugar, nucleotide sugar, amino acid, carbon, and purine metabolism.
Conclusions:
- Both CFD and PFD can support the establishment of human microbiota in mice.
- HFA mouse models fed a CFD for 4 weeks offer a promising platform for researching human-derived intestinal diseases.
- The CFD diet enhances the human-like microbial and metabolic profiles in HFA mice.
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