title: Can microbiota transplantation abrogate murine colonization resistance against Campylobacter jejuni?
abstract: Enterocolitis caused by Campylobacter jejuni represents an important socioeconomic burden worldwide. The host-specific intestinal microbiota is essential for maintaining colonization resistance (CR) against C. jejuni in conventional mice. Notably, CR is abrogated by shifts of the intestinal microbiota towards overgrowth with commensal E. coli during acute ileitis. Thus, we investigated whether oral transplantation (TX) of ileal microbiota derived from C. jejuni susceptible mice with acute ileitis overcomes CR of healthy conventional animals. Four days following ileitis microbiota TX or ileitis induction and right before C. jejuni infection, mice displayed comparable loads of main intestinal bacterial groups as shown by culture. Eight days following ileitis induction, but not ileal microbiota TX, however, C. jejuni could readily colonize the gastrointestinal tract of conventional mice and also translocate to extra-intestinal tissue sites such as mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and blood within 4 days following oral infection. Of note, C. jejuni did not further deteriorate histopathology following ileitis induction. Lack of C. jejuni colonization in TX mice was accompanied by a decrease of commensal E. coli loads in the feces 4 days following C. jejuni infection. In summary, oral ileal microbiota TX from susceptible donors is not sufficient to abrogate murine CR against C. jejuni.
authors.affiliation: Charité-University Medicine Berlin, CC5, Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Campus Benjamin Franklin Hindenburgdamm 27, D-12203 Berlin +49-30-8445-2194 +49-30-450-524-902 markus.heimesaat@charite.de Germany.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Heimesaat
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Plickert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: U B
authors.initials: UB
authors.lastname: Göbel
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bereswill
keywords: Campylobacter jejuni, colonization resistance, fecal transplantation, microbiota, intestinal inflammation, acute ileitis, Toxoplasma gondii, bacterial translocation, susceptibility to infection, E. coli, pathogen–commensal interaction, pathogen–host i