Effect of gluten-free diet and antibiotics on murine gut microbiota and immune response to tetanus vaccination.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of a gluten-free diet and/or antibiotics on tetanus vaccine induced immunoglobulin G titers and immune cell levels in BALB/c mice. The gluten-free diet was associated with a reduced anti-tetanus IgG response, and it increased the relative abundance of the anti-inflammatory Bifidobacterium significantly in some of the mice. Antibiotics also led to gut microbiota changes and lower initial vaccine titer.

Oral LPS Dosing Induces Local Immunological Changes in the Pancreatic Lymph Nodes in Mice.

Lacking the initial contact between the immune system and microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs), such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), early in life, may be regarded as one of the causal factors of the increasing global increase in the incidence of autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes (T1D). Previously, a reduced incidence of T1D accompanied by dramatically increased abundances of both the mucin-metabolising bacterium , and LPS-carrying Proteobacteria was observed, when vancomycin was given to pups of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. While the T1D incidence reducing effect of .

Dietary LPS traces influences disease expression of the diet-induced obese mouse.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Gram negative bacteria are generally present in laboratory animal chow diets in unknown amounts, which has been correlated to significant immunological differences between animals receiving diets with either low or high "naturally" occurring LPS content. LPS in the blood stream has been linked to glucose intolerance through Toll-like receptor mediated release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, metabolic endotoxemia, adipose tissue inflammation. LPS uptake increases when co-administered with fat, therefore uncontrolled LPS levels in a high-fat diet may increase variation in development of disease when high-fat diets are used to induce obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Oral insulin does not alter gut microbiota composition of NOD mice.

Background: Oral insulin as a preventive strategy and/or treatment of type 1 diabetes has been the target of much research. Producing oral insulins is a complex and challenging task, with numerous pitfalls, due to physiological, physical, and biochemical barriers. Our aim was to determine the impact of oral insulin on the delicate gut microbiota composition.

Long-term Western diet fed apolipoprotein E-deficient rats exhibit only modest early atherosclerotic characteristics.

In the apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse, the gut microbiota has an impact on the development of atherosclerosis, but whether such correlations are also present in rats requires investigation. Therefore, we studied female SD-Apoe (Apoe) rats fed either a Western diet or a low-fat control diet with or without gluten, which is known to promote gut microbiota changes, until 20 weeks of age. We hypothesized that the manifestation of atherosclerosis would be more severe in Apoe rats fed the Western high-fat diet, as compared with rats fed the low-fat diet, and that atherosclerosis would be accelerated by gluten.

Modulating the Gut Microbiota Improves Glucose Tolerance, Lipoprotein Profile and Atherosclerotic Plaque Development in ApoE-Deficient Mice.

The importance of the gut microbiota (GM) in disease development has recently received increased attention, and numerous approaches have been made to better understand this important interplay. For example, metabolites derived from the GM have been shown to promote atherosclerosis, the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and to increase CVD risk factors. Popular interest in the role of the intestine in a variety of disease states has now resulted in a significant proportion of individuals without coeliac disease switching to gluten-free diets.

Dietary magnesium deficiency affects gut microbiota and anxiety-like behaviour in C57BL/6N mice.

Objective: Magnesium deficiency has been associated with anxiety in humans, and rodent studies have demonstrated the gut microbiota to impact behaviour.

Methods: We investigated the impact of 6 weeks of dietary magnesium deficiency on gut microbiota composition and anxiety-like behaviour and whether there was a link between the two. A total of 20 C57BL/6 mice, fed either a standard diet or a magnesium-deficient diet for 6 weeks, were tested using the light-dark box anxiety test.

Dietary magnesium deficiency alters gut microbiota and leads to depressive-like behaviour.

Objective: Gut microbiota (GM) has previously been associated with alterations in rodent behaviour, and since the GM is affected by the diet, the composition of the diet may be an important factor contributing to behavioural changes. Interestingly, a magnesium restricted diet has been shown to induce anxiety and depressive-like behaviour in humans and rodents, and it could be suggested that magnesium deficiency may mediate the effects through an altered GM.

Methods: The present study therefore fed C57BL/6 mice with a standard diet or a magnesium deficient diet (MgD) for 6 weeks, followed by behavioural testing in the forced swim test (FST) to evaluate depressive-like behaviour.