Transplantation of a Bacterial Consortium Ameliorates Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid-Induced Colitis and Intestinal Dysbiosis in Rats

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the effects of a defined bacterial consortium on trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis and intestinal dysbiosis in rats. Materials & methods: Rats with TNBS-induced colitis were treated with ceftriaxone and/or a mixture of ten bacterial strains isolated from mouse feces for continuous 24 days. Macroscopic and histopathological parameters in colonic tissue were compared, as were myeloperoxidase enzyme activity and cytokine levels. Patterns of intestinal microbiota were assessed by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, the abundance of selected microbial groups was evaluated by qPCR. Results & conclusion: Transplantation of the bacterial consortium showed anti-inflammatory activity in the intestines of rats with TNBS-induced colitis and contributed to the rapid re-establishment of intestinal microbial equilibrium. A defined bacterial consortium may be a viable therapeutic option for the treatment inflammatory bowel disease.

KEYWORDS:

• antibiotics
• bacterial consortium transplantation
• inflammatory bowel disease
• intestinal microbiota

Supplementary Data

Author contributions

L Tang contributed to the conception and design of the study. M Li, Z Li, S Wen together with Y Liu and Y Wang performed the experiments. All the authors contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data. M Li wrote the manuscript. All the authors have reviewed and approved the final draft.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank H Zhang for her guidance and collaboration with histopathological analysis.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was supported by grants from National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program, 2013CB531405), the National High-Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, 2014AA022200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 81370113), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China (RFDP, 20132105120012) and the Nature Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, China (2015020262). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program, 2013CB531405), the National High-Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program, 2014AA022200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 81370113), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China (RFDP, 20132105120012) and the Nature Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, China (2015020262). The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.