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Daoust L, Choi BSY, Agrinier AL, Varin TV, Ouellette A, Mitchell PL, Samson N, Pilon G, Levy E, Desjardins Y, Laplante M, Anhê FF, Houde VP, Marette A. Gnotobiotic mice housing conditions critically influence the phenotype associated with transfer of faecal microbiota in a context of obesity. Gut 2022; 72:896-905. [PMID: 36881441 DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2021-326475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 03/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in germ-free (GF) mice is a common approach to study the causal role of the gut microbiota in metabolic diseases. Lack of consideration of housing conditions post-FMT may contribute to study heterogeneity. We compared the impact of two housing strategies on the metabolic outcomes of GF mice colonised by gut microbiota from mice treated with a known gut modulator (cranberry proanthocyanidins (PAC)) or vehicle. DESIGN High-fat high-sucrose diet-fed GF mice underwent FMT-PAC colonisation in sterile individual positive flow ventilated cages under rigorous housing conditions and then maintained for 8 weeks either in the gnotobiotic-axenic sector or in the specific pathogen free (SPF) sector of the same animal facility. RESULTS Unexpectedly, 8 weeks after colonisation, we observed opposing liver phenotypes dependent on the housing environment of mice. Mice housed in the GF sector receiving the PAC gut microbiota showed a significant decrease in liver weight and hepatic triglyceride accumulation compared with control group. Conversely, exacerbated liver steatosis was observed in the FMT-PAC mice housed in the SPF sector. These phenotypic differences were associated with housing-specific profiles of colonising bacterial in the gut and of faecal metabolites. CONCLUSION These results suggest that the housing environment in which gnotobiotic mice are maintained post-FMT strongly influences gut microbiota composition and function and can lead to distinctive phenotypes in recipient mice. Better standardisation of FMT experiments is needed to ensure reproducible and translatable results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurence Daoust
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Béatrice S-Y Choi
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Anne-Laure Agrinier
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Thibault V Varin
- Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Adia Ouellette
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Patricia L Mitchell
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Genevieve Pilon
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Emile Levy
- Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,CHU Ste-Justine Research Center, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yves Desjardins
- Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Fernando F Anhê
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences; Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute and Centre for Metabolsim, Obesity and Diabetes Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vanessa P Houde
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada.,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
| | - Andre Marette
- Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, Quebec, Québec, Canada .,Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Quebec, Québec, Canada
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Lebeuf M, Turgeon N, Faubert C, Pleau A, Robillard J, Paradis É, Marette A, Duchaine C. Contaminants and Where to Find Them: Microbiological Quality Control in Axenic Animal Facilities. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:709399. [PMID: 34484147 PMCID: PMC8415547 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.709399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of axenic animal models in experimental research has exponentially grown in the past few years and the most reliable way for confirming their axenic status remains unclear. It is especially the case when using individual ventilated positive-pressure cages such as the Isocage. This type of cage are at a greater risk of contamination and expose animals to a longer handling process leading to more potential stress when opened compared to isolators. The aim of this study was to propose simple ways to detect microbial contaminants with Isocages type isolator resulting by developing, validating and optimizing three different methods (culture, microscopy, and molecular). These three approaches were also tested in situ by spiking 21 axenic mice with different microorganisms. Our results suggest that the culture method can be used for feces and surface station (IBS) swabs exclusively (in Brain Heart Infusion for 7 days at 25°C and 37°C in aerobic conditions, and at 30°C in anaerobic conditions), while microscopy (wet mounts) and molecular method (quantitative PCR) were only suitable for fecal matter analyses. In situ results suggests that the culture and molecular methods can detect up to 100% of bacterial contamination events while the microscopy approach generates many erroneous results when not performed by a skilled microscopist. In situ results also suggest that when an axenic mouse is contaminated by a microbial agent, the microorganism will colonize the mouse to such an extent that detection is obvious in 4 days, in average. This report validates simple but complimentary tests that can be used for optimal detection of contaminants in axenic animal facilities using Isocage type isolators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Lebeuf
- Département de Biochimie, Microbiologie et Bio-Informatique, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Nathalie Turgeon
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Cynthia Faubert
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Alexandre Pleau
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Justin Robillard
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Éric Paradis
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - André Marette
- Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada.,Département de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.,Pfizer Canada - CIHR Chair in the Pathogenesis of Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Diseases, Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Caroline Duchaine
- Département de Biochimie, Microbiologie et Bio-Informatique, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada.,Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada.,Tier-1 Canada Research Chair in Bioaerosols, Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
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