Cross-modulation of pathogen-specific pathways enhances malnutrition during enteric co-infection with Giardia lamblia and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli
Fig 2
Giardia interacts with resident microbiota to impair host growth during protein malnutrition.
(A) Experimental timeline. 3-week-old C57Bl/6 mice were initiated on the PD diet upon arrival. Antibiotic (Abx)-treated animals received antibiotics vancomycin, neomycin, and ampicillin continuously ad libitum in drinking water beginning 8 days prior to G. lamblia challenge and throughout the duration of the experiment. (B) Growth curves of each experimental group as percent of initial weight beginning on the day of G. lamblia challenge (Day 0). **P<0.01, *** P<0.001 (G. lamblia vs. PBS); ^P<0.05, ^^^P<0.01, ^^^^P<0.001 (G. lamblia vs. PBSAbx), and ## P<0.01 and #### P<0.0001 (G. lamblia vs. G.lambliaAbx) (n = 11-13/group in combined replicate experiments). (C) Effect of continuous antibiotics on serial Giardia fecal shedding and (D) day 14 duodenum burden as determined by 18S qPCR. (E) Krona visualization of fecal 16S V3-V4 OTUs in PBS control (left) and G. lamblia infected (right) mice at 14 days post-challenge. (F) Fecal Enterobacteriaceae abundance by 16S V3-V4 OTUs in PBS and G. lamblia (G.l.) infected mice at 14 days post-challenge. (G) Abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Enterobacteriaceae by qPCR in duodenum (left) and feces (right) day 14 after G.lamblia challenge (*P<0.05, ****P<0.0001), #P<0.05, ^P<0.05 as indicated (n = 4 = 8/group). (H) Correlation between growth as % weight change at 14 days after G. lamblia challenge (such that 0 = no change in weight and 15 = 15% weight increase) and fecal qPCR abundance of designated bacterial taxa or G. lamblia in uninfected (left) and G. lamblia challenged mice (right).