Human flora-associated rodents--does the data support the assumptions?
There is little direct literature detailing exhaustive bacteriological studies comparing human donor faecal flora, human flora-associated (HFA) mouse models and conventional rodent faecal flora. While there is a premise that the implanted donor faecal flora from humans is established in the rodent model the evidence is incomplete and indeed for groups such as Bifidobacterium spp. it is lacking. The reviewed bacteriology studies are generally lacking in detail with the exception of one study from which the data have mostly been overlooked when cited by other workers. While there are studies that suggest that the HFA rodent model is more relevant to man than studies with conventional rodents, the hypothesis remains to be proven. This review concludes that the established microbial flora in the HFA rodent model is different to that of donor human faecal flora, and this clearly raises the question as to whether this matters, after all a model is a model and as such models can be useful even should they fail to be a true representation of, in this case, the gastrointestinal tract. What matters is that there is a proper understanding of the limitations of the model as we attempt to unravel the significance of the components of the gastrointestinal flora in health and disease; examples of why such an analysis is important are provided with regard to obesity and nutritional studies. The data do unsurprisingly suggest that diet is an extremely influential variable when interpreting HFA and conventional rodent data. The microbiology data from direct bacteriology and indirect enzyme studies show that the established microbial flora in the HFA rodent model is different to that of donor human faecal flora. The significance of this conclusion remains to be established.
MB Consult Limited, Lymington, UK. p-s@mbconsult.co.uk
Peter
P
Silley
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D023421:Models, Animal; D012377:Rodentia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2007 Dec;277(2):205-9
18031341
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1986 Jun;29(6):1047-52
3729360
Nutr Cancer. 2000;37(2):193-8
11142093
J Appl Bacteriol. 1985 Dec;59(6):549-53
3938453
Food Addit Contam. 1990 Sep-Oct;7(5):597-604
2253804
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Nov 2;101(44):15718-23
15505215
Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2004 Mar;286(3):G361-6
14766534
Epidemiol Infect. 1996 Feb;116(1):35-40
8626002
Am J Clin Nutr. 1980 Nov;33(11 Suppl):2440-7
7001883
J Appl Bacteriol. 1993 Jun;74(6):667-74
8349528
Nutr Cancer. 1993;19(1):67-76
8383316
Gastroenterology. 1993 Dec;105(6):1643-50
8253341
Int J Food Microbiol. 2003 Jan 26;82(1):59-70
12505460
Gut. 1995 Feb;36(2):209-14
7883219
Gut. 2001 Apr;48(4):503-7
11247894
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2001 Oct;34(2):125-36
11603955
J Appl Bacteriol. 1987 Jul;63(1):39-45
2820914
Med Microbiol Immunol. 1988;177(3):133-44
3292884
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Jun;71(6):3171-8
15933018
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1992;31(4):299-331
1581008
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Nov 26;99(24):15451-5
12432102
Science. 2001 Feb 2;291(5505):881-4
11157169
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2002 Aug;82(1-4):279-89
12369194
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2005 Aug;29(3):477-90
16125009
J Appl Microbiol. 2005;98(6):1303-15
15916644
J Appl Microbiol. 1999 Mar;86(3):521-30
10196757
Ann Microbiol (Paris). 1984 Mar-Apr;135A(2):303-18
6326642
Ann Microbiol (Paris). 1980 Nov-Dec;131B(3):309-18
7008675
Curr Issues Intest Microbiol. 2001 Sep;2(2):43-53
11721280
Exp Anim. 1999 Oct;48(4):219-27
10591000
J Appl Microbiol. 2008 Apr;104(4):1119-27
18248372
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 Aug 17;96(17):9833-8
10449780
J Dairy Sci. 2002 May;85(5):1039-51
12086037
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2005 Jul;42(2):151-60
15963836
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1987 Apr;31(4):587-93
3300533
J Appl Bacteriol. 1981 Feb;50(1):95-106
7014548
Lab Invest. 1995 Oct;73(4):558-64
7474928
J Appl Bacteriol. 1989 May;66(5):433-7
2502531