Industrialized human gut microbiota increases CD8+ T cells and mucus thickness in humanized mouse gut

Immigration to a highly industrialized nation has been associated with metabolic disease and simultaneous shifts in microbiota composition, but the underlying mechanisms are challenging to test in human studies. Here, we conducted a pilot study to assess the differential effects of human gut microbiota collected from the United States (US) and rural Thailand on the murine gut mucosa and immune system. Colonization of germ-free mice with microbiota from US individuals resulted in an increased accumulation of innate-like CD8 T cells in the small intestine lamina propria and intra-epithelial compartments when compared to colonization with microbiota from Thai individuals. Both TCRγδ and CD8αα T cells showed a marked increase in mice receiving Western microbiota and, interestingly, this phenotype was also associated with an increase in intestinal mucus thickness. Serendipitously, an accidentally infected group of mice corroborated this association between elevated inflammatory response and increased mucus thickness. These results suggest that Western-associated human gut microbes contribute to a pro-inflammatory immune response.