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In This Article

  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Protocol
  • Representative Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Materials
  • References
  • Reprints and Permissions

Summary

Described here is a protocol to investigate the interactions between endobiotics and human gut microbiota using in vitro batch fermentation systems.

Abstract

Human intestinal microorganisms have recently become an important target of research in promoting human health and preventing diseases. Consequently, investigations of interactions between endobiotics (e.g., drugs and prebiotics) and gut microbiota have become an important research topic. However, in vivo experiments with human volunteers are not ideal for such studies due to bioethics and economic constraints. As a result, animal models have been used to evaluate these interactions in vivo. Nevertheless, animal model studies are still limited by bioethics considerations, in addition to differing compositions and diversities of microbiota in animals vs. humans. An alternative research strategy is the use of batch fermentation experiments that allow evaluation of the interactions between endobiotics and gut microbiota in vitro. To evaluate this strategy, bifidobacterial (Bif) exopolysaccharides (EPS) were used as a representative xenobiotic. Then, the interactions between Bif EPS and human gut microbiota were investigated using several methods such as thin-layer chromatography (TLC), bacterial community compositional analysis with 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing, and gas chromatography of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Presented here is a protocol to investigate the interactions between endobiotics and human gut microbiota using in vitro batch fermentation systems. Importantly, this protocol can also be modified to investigate general interactions between other endobiotics and gut microbiota.

Introduction

Gut microbiota play an important role in the functioning of human intestines and in host health. Consequently, gut microbiota have recently become an important target for disease prevention and therapy1. Moreover, gut bacteria interact with host intestinal cells and regulate fundamental host processes, including metabolic activities, nutrient availabilities, immune system modulation, and even brain function and decision-making2,3. Endobiotics have considerable potential to influence the bacterial composition and diversity of gut microbiota. Thus, interactions between endobiotics and hum....

Protocol

This protocol follows the guidelines of the ethics committee of Hunan University of Science and Engineering (Hunan, China), and the Zhejiang Gongshang University (Zhejiang, China).

1. Preparation of bacteria

  1. Preparation of bifidobacterium medium broth
    1. Combine the following components in 950 mL of distilled water: meat extract, 5 g/L; yeast extract, 5 g/L; casein peptone, 10 g/L; soytone, 5 g/L; glucose, 10 g/L; K2HPO4, 2.04 g/L; MgSO4·7.......

Representative Results

The production of mucoid EPS could be observed in B. longum cultures on PYG plates after anaerobic incubation for 72 h (Figure 1A). Centrifugation of culture scrapes, followed by ethanol precipitation and drying, resulted in the collection of cellulose-like EPS (Figure 1B). Dried EPS and soluble starch were then used as carbon sources for fermentation cultures. TLC was used for oligosaccharide separation and purity analysis due to its low cost and rapid.......

Discussion

Significant progress has been made towards understanding human gut microbiota composition and activities over the last decade. As a consequence of these studies, the holobiont concept has emerged, which represents the interactions between hosts and associated microbial communities, such as in between humans and their gut microbiota19,20. Furthermore, humans are even now regarded as superorganisms21, wherein the gut microbiota have been rec.......

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 31741109), the Hunan Natural Science Foundation (No. 2018JJ3200), and the construct program of applied characteristic discipline in Hunan University of Science and Engineering. We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

....

Materials

NameCompanyCatalog NumberComments
0.22 µm membrane filtersMilliporeSLGP033RBUse to filter samples
0.4-mm SieveThermo Fischer308080-99-1Use to prepare human fecal samples
5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-D-galactopyranoside (X-Gal)SolarbioX1010Use to prepare color plate
AceticSigma-Aldrich71251Standard sample for SCFA
AgarSolarbioYZ-1012214The component of medium
Anaerobic chamberElectrotek AW 400SGBacteria culture and fermentation
AutoclaveSANYOMLS-3750Use to autoclave
Bacto soytoneSigma-Aldrich70178The component of medium
Baking ovenShanghai Yiheng Scientific Instruments Co., LtdDHG-9240AUse to heat and bake
Beef ExtractSolarbioG8270The component of medium
Bifidobacterium longum ReuterATCCATCC® 51870™Bacteria
Bile SaltsSolarbioYZ-1071304The component of medium
ButyricSigma-Aldrich19215Standard sample for SCFA
CaCl2SolarbioC7250Salt solution of medium
Capillary columnSHIMADZU-GLInertCap FFAP (0.25 mm × 30 m × 0.25 μm)Used to SCFA detection
Casein PeptoneSigma-Aldrich39396The component of medium
CentrifugeThermo ScientificSorvall ST 8Use for centrifugation
CoSO4.7H2OSolarbioC7490The component of medium
CuSO4.5H2OSolarbio203165The component of medium
Cysteine-HClSolarbioL1550The component of medium
EthanolSigma-AldrichE7023Use to prepare vitamin K1
FeSO4.7H2OSolarbioYZ-111614The component of medium
Formic AcidSigma-Aldrich399388Used to TLC
Gas chromatographyShimadzu CorporationGC-2010 PlusUsed to SCFA detection
Glass beakerFisher ScientificFB10050Used for slurry preparation
GlucoseSolarbioG8760The component of medium
HaeminSolarbioH8130The component of medium
HClSigma-Aldrich30721Basic solution used to adjust the pH of the buffers
IsobutyricSigma-Aldrich46935-UStandard sample for SCFA
Isovaleric AcidsSigma-Aldrich129542Standard sample for SCFA
K2HPO4SolarbioD9880Salt solution of medium
KClSolarbioP9921The component of medium
KH2PO4SolarbioP7392Salt solution of medium
LiCl.3H2OSolarbioC8380Use to prepare color plate
Meat ExtractSigma-Aldrich-Aldrich70164The component of medium
Metaphosphoric AcidSigma-AldrichB7350Standard sample for SCFA
MgCl2.6H2OSolarbioM8160The component of medium
MgSO4.7H2OSolarbioM8300Salt solution of medium
MISEQIlluminaMiSeq 300PE systemDNA sequencing
MnSO4.H20Sigma-AldrichM8179Salt solution of medium
MupirocinSolarbioYZ-1448901Antibiotic
NaClSolarbioYZ-100376Salt solution of medium
NaHCO3Sigma-Aldrich792519Salt solution of medium
NanoDrop ND-2000NanoDrop TechnologiesND-2000Determine DNA concentrations
NaOHSigma-Aldrich30620Basic solution used to adjust the pH of the buffers
n-butanolChemSpider71-36-3Used to TLC
NiCl2Solarbio746460The component of medium
OrcinolSigma-Aldrich447420Used to prepare orcinol reagents
PropionicSigma-Aldrich94425Standard sample for SCFA
QIAamp DNA Stool Mini KitQIAGEN51504Extract bacterial genomic DNA
Ready-to-use PBS powderSangon Biotech (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.A610100-0001Used to prepare the lipid suspension
ResazurinSolarbioR8150Anaerobic Equipment
Speed Vacuum ConcentratorLABCONCOCentriVapUse to prepare EPSs
StarchSolarbioYZ-140602Use to the carbon source
Sulfuric AcidSigma-Aldrich150692Used to prepare orcinol reagents
T100 PCRBIO-RAD1861096PCR amplification
TLC aluminium sheetsMerckMillipore116835Used to TLC
Trypticase PeptoneSigma-AldrichZ699209The component of medium
TryptoneSigma-AldrichT7293The component of medium
Tween 80SolarbioT8360Salt solution of medium
ValericSigma-Aldrich75054Standard sample for SCFA
Vitamin K1Sigma-AldrichV3501The component of medium
Vortex oscillatorScientific IndustriesVortex.Genie2Use to vortexing
Yeast ExtractSigma-AldrichY1625The component of medium
ZnSO4.7H2OSigma-AldrichZ0251The component of medium

References

  1. Maarten, V. D. G., Blottière Hervé, M., Doré, J. Humans as holobionts: implications for prevention and therapy. Microbiome. 6 (1), 81 (2018).
  2. Allen, A. P., Dinan, T. G., Clarke, G., Cryan, J. F. A psychology of the human bra....

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In VitroGut MicrobiotaEndobioticsFermentationPolysaccharideShort chain Fatty AcidTLCOrcinolHigh throughput ScreeningDiagnosis

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