Microbiota dependence of colonic HDCA availability in mice
This study aimed to assess whether the availability of colonic HDCA is dependent on the gut microbiota. Mice were assigned to either a control group (CON-HCA) or an antibiotic-treated group (ABX-HCA). After a one-week conditioning period with either sterile water or an antibiotic cocktail, both groups received oral gavage of HCA (50 mg/kg/day in 6% NaHCO3) for 7 consecutive days. Body weight was monitored throughout the treatment. At necropsy, colon length was measured and colonic contents were collected for analyses. Targeted bile acid profiling was performed on all animals (n = 10 per group), while full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing was conducted on a subset (n = 8 per group).