Abstract
BackgroundGut microbiota plays an important role in many metabolic diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis. Apolipoprotein E (apoE) knock-out (KO) mice are frequently used for the study of hyperlipidemia and atherosclerosis. However, it is unknown whether apoE KO mice have altered gut microbiota when challenged with a Western diet.MethodsIn the current study, we assessed the gut microbiota profiling of apoE KO mice and compared with wild-type mice fed either a normal chow or Western diet for 12 weeks using 16S pyrosequencing.ResultsOn a western diet, the gut microbiota diversity was significantly decreased in apoE KO mice compared with wild type (WT) mice. Firmicutes and Erysipelotrichaceae were significantly increased in WT mice but Erysipelotrichaceae was unchanged in apoE KO mice on a Western diet. The weighted UniFrac principal coordinate analysis exhibited clear separation between WT and apoE KO mice on the first vector (58.6%) with significant changes of two dominant phyla (Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes) and seven dominant families (Porphyromonadaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, Helicobacteraceae, Erysipelotrichaceae and Veillonellaceae). Lachnospiraceae was significantly enriched in apoE KO mice on a Western diet. In addition, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae were positively correlated with relative atherosclerosis lesion size in apoE KO.ConclusionsCollectively, our study showed that there are marked changes in the gut microbiota of apoE KO mice, particularly challenged with a Western diet and these alterations may be possibly associated with atherosclerosis.
Highlights
Gut microbiota plays an important role in many metabolic diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis
Given the fact that the gut microbiota plays an important role in many metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome [17,18,19,20] and atherosclerosis [21,22,23,24], we envisioned that the gut microbiota may be altered in Apolipoprotein E (apoE) KO mice when challenged with a Western diet
We investigated the gut microbiota profiling of apoE KO mice fed a chow and western diet compared with wild type (WT) mice
Summary
Gut microbiota plays an important role in many metabolic diseases such as diabetes and atherosclerosis. Excess intake of a high-fat diet or Western diet is generally considered unhealthy because such a diet can cause many metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis [1,2,3] This notion has been widely accepted, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these pathophysiological consequences are still not fully understood. Given the fact that the gut microbiota plays an important role in many metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome [17,18,19,20] and atherosclerosis [21,22,23,24], we envisioned that the gut microbiota may be altered in apoE KO mice when challenged with a Western diet. Our data revealed that apoE KO mice exhibited unique features of the gut microbiota diversity and compositions and these features may provide novel insight into understanding the relationship between gut microbiota and atherosclerosis
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