Analyzing the Role of Gut Microbiota on the Onset of Autoimmune Diseases Using TNF Murine Model.

Very little is known about disease transmission via the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that certain inflammatory features could be transmitted via the gut microbiome and tested this hypothesis using an animal model of inflammatory diseases. Twelve-week-old healthy C57 Bl/6 and Germ-Free (GF) female and male mice were fecal matter transplanted (FMT) under anaerobic conditions with TNF donors exhibiting spontaneous Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or with conventional healthy mice control donors.