Figure 4.
Mice lacking epithelial GPR65 are vulnerable to C. rodentium-induced colitis. Gpr65ΔIEC mice and Gpr65fl/fl littermates (n = 6 in each group) were orally infected with C. rodentium (2 × 109 CFU/mouse) after fasting for 8 h, and sacrificed at day 8. (a) the body weights of mice were monitored daily. (b, c) gross morphology and colon length in the indicated groups of mice. (d) representative images of the distal colon tissues after H&E staining. Scale bars, 50 μm. (e) pathological scores of the colon sections were calculated as indicated. (f) FITC-dextran (μg/mL) in sera. (g) C. rodentium (Cfu/g) in the liver and feces were measured. (h) qPCR analysis of C. rodentium expression relative to 16S rRNA in the feces. It should be noted here that qPCR measures relative expression between samples, not the actual bacterial numbers or CFUs. (i-k) relative Il6, Tnfa and Cxcl1 mRNA expression in the distal colon tissues of indicated mice. (l-n) relative Reg3g, Reg3b and Nos2 mRNA expression in the colonic IECs of indicated groups of mice. (o-p) immunoblotting analysis and quantification of REG3γ in the colonic IECs. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001. Data are representative of three independent experiments.