Dominant Effects of the Diet on the Microbiome and the Local and Systemic Immune Response in Mice

Abstract

Outside the nutrition community the effects of diet on immune-mediated diseases and experimental outcomes have not been appreciated. Investigators that study immune-mediated diseases and/or the microbiome have overlooked the potential of diet to impact disease phenotype. We aimed to determine the effects of diet on the bacterial microbiota and immune-mediated diseases. Three different laboratory diets were fed to wild-type mice for 2 weeks and resulted in three distinct susceptibilities to dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Examination of the fecal microbiota demonstrated a diet-mediated effect on the bacteria found there. Broad-spectrum antibiotics disturbed the gut microbiome and partially eliminated the diet-mediated changes in DSS susceptibility. Dietary changes 2 days after DSS treatment were protective and suggested that the diet-mediated effect occurred quickly. There were no diet-mediated effects on DSS susceptibility in germ-free mice. In addition, the diet-mediated effects were evident in a gastrointestinal infection model (Citrobacter rodentium) and in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Taken together, our study demonstrates a dominant effect of diet on immune-mediated diseases that act rapidly by changing the microbiota. These findings highlight the potential of using dietary manipulation to control the microbiome and prevent/treat immune-mediated disease.

Chemically Defined Diet Alters the Protective Properties of Fructo-Oligosaccharides and Isomalto-Oligosaccharides in HLA-B27 Transgenic Rats

“…It was recently reported that feeding purified diets enhanced the susceptibility of mice to DSS-induced colitis; this effect was partially mediated by the gut microbiome and was associated with diet-mediated effects on the systemic immune response [47]. Our study demonstrated that the effect of the overall dietary fibre content on intestinal microbiota and cecal SCFA formation in HLA-B27 transgenic rats was greater than the effect of supplementation with IMO or FOS.…”

What Would You Like to Eat, Mr CKD Microbiota? A Mediterranean Diet, please!

“…This is confirmed by studies in other disease models, such as immune-mediated pathologies, which demonstrate a quick and sharp effect of diet on microbiome and subsequently on the onset of the disease [44]. …”

Impacts of resistant starch and wheat bran consumption on enteric inflammation in relation to colonic bacterial community structures and short-chain fatty acid concentrations in mice

“…We observed that mice without acute enteritis that consumed a RS-enriched diet had higher final weights, and a longer colon; the increased body weight and length of the colon is consistent with an increase in the combined mass of the intestinal cells [49]. This may not only translate to enhanced anabolism, but improved mucosal repair, barrier function and enterocyte hyperplasia, contributing to an increase in colon length are well-recognized manifestations of mitigated intestinal inflammation [40]. Although DF intake can reduce feed intake, generally, the total amount of calories required for growth is not affected, and individuals can still maintain a healthy weight [50].…”