Laboratory InvestigationFecal microbiota transplantation by enema reduces intestinal injury in experimental necrotizing enterocolitis
Section snippets
Experimental groups
C57BL/6 mice were purchased from Jackson Laboratory (The Jackson Laboratory, USA) and kept in laminar-flow cages. Fresh stool was collected from a healthy C57BL/6 adult mouse (8 weeks old). Fecal supernatant was collected after homogenizing 1 g fresh stool in 10 mL sterile PBS and centrifuging at 2000 × g for 5 min. NEC was induced between postnatal (P) days P5 and P9 by hypoxia, gavage feeding of hyperosmolar formula and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as we have previously described [12]. On P6, the
Experiment 1: FMT by gavage
There were 18 pup mice studied: (i) control breastfed mice (n = 4); (ii) NEC alone (n = 8) and (iii) NEC with FMT by gavage (n = 6). In line with what we previously published [14], [15], NEC induction resulted in intestinal damage characterized by separation of submucosa and lamina propria, partial loss of the villi, villous sloughing and increased intestinal inflammation. Relative to NEC alone, FMT by gavage did not improve the intestinal damage and resulted in further increase in inflammatory
Discussion
This study indicates that FMT by enema is beneficial in experimental NEC as it reduces the intestinal damage and the inflammatory status of the terminal ileum while increasing the barrier function of the intestine.
During the last 20 years, the overall incidence of NEC has gradually increased, which is mostly attributed to the decreased mortality of premature infants [2], [3]. However, while the medical progress contributed to the increased survival of premature infants, it also exposed more
Acknowledgments
Jia Liu is a joint Ph.D. student supported by the China Scholarship Council CSC Fund. Dr. Agostino Pierro is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Foundation Grant 353857 and by the Robert M. Filler Professor of Surgery, the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto.
Declarations of interest
None.
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