title: Assessment of the Intestinal Barrier with Five Different Permeability Tests in Healthy C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ Mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intestinal permeability is thought to be of major relevance for digestive and nutrition-related diseases, and therefore has been studied in numerous mouse models of disease. However, it is unclear which tools are the preferable ones, and how normal values should be defined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare different in vivo permeability tests in healthy mice of commonly used genetic backgrounds.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the intestinal barrier in male and female C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mice of different ages, using four orally administered permeability markers, FITC-dextran 4000 (FITC-D4000) and ovalbumin (OVA) measured in plasma, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) and lactulose/mannitol (Lac/Man) measured in urine, and by assessing lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in portal vein plasma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After gavage, FITC-D4000, OVA, Lac/Man, and PEG400, but not PEG4000, were detectable in plasma or urine. Female mice tended to have a higher permeability according to the FITC-D4000, OVA, and PEG400 tests, but the Lac/Man ratio was higher in males. No significant differences between the two mouse strains of young and old mice were observed except for mannitol recovery, which was higher in BALB/cJ mice compared to C57BL/6J mice (p < 0.05). Virtually no LPS was detected in healthy mice. For all markers, normal values have been defined based on 5th-95th percentile ranges of our data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Selected oral permeability tests, such as FITC-D4000, OVA, PEG400, and Lac/Man, as well as LPS measurements in portal vein plasma, could be suitable for the evaluation of the intestinal barrier in mice, if used in a standardized way.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Volynets
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reichold
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Gyöngyi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bárdos
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rings
authors.affiliation: Institute for Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bleich
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Medicine, University of Hohenheim, Fruwirthstr. 12, 70593, Stuttgart, Germany. bischoff.stephan@uni-hohenheim.de.
authors.forename: Stephan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Bischoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003911:Dextrans / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D007792:Lactulose / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008353:Mannitol / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D010539:Permeability; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011169:Portal Vein
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; C015219:fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran; D008353:Mannitol; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D007792:Lactulose; D010047:Ovalbumin; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate
keywords: FITC-dextran; Intestinal permeability; Lactulose; Lipopolysaccharide; Ovalbumin; Polyethylene glycol