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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 May 8.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Host Microbe. 2019 May 8;25(5):668–680.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2019.04.002

Figure 3: Mono-colonization of germ-free mice with a sphingolipid-deficient B. thetaiotaomicron strain results in intestinal inflammation and barrier dysfunction.

Figure 3:

(A) Female, 6-week old, germ-free (GF) C57BL/6N mice were colonized with B. thetaiotaomicron WT (BTWT) and B. thetaiotaomicron spt deletion (BTΔSPT) strains. BTWT (blue) and BTΔSPT (red) colony-forming units (CFU) in fecal pellets were determined after 3 days of colonization. (B) Representative images of H&E stained colon and ileum sections from BTWT- and BTΔSPT-colonized mice. The average crypt height for each (C) ileal and (D) colonic section collected from BTWT- (blue) and BTΔSPT-colonized (red) mice was measured and plotted. (E) The number of goblet cells per villi observed in the ileum of BTWT- (blue) and BTΔSPT-colonized (red) mice was measured and plotted. Concentrations of (F) IL-6 and (G) MCP-1 detected in the colons of BTWT- (blue) and BTΔSPT-colonized (red) mice. (H) Relative abundance of F4/80+ macrophages compared to total lymphocytes (CD45+) from the colonic lamina propria of BTWT-(blue) and BTΔSPT-colonized (red) mice. (I) Representative immunofluorescence images of colon sections stained for macrophages (orange) with an F4/80-specific antibody. Nuclei are stained with DAPI (blue). All data are representative of 2 independent experiments, n=3 or n=6 per group. Scale bars, 100 μm. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. *p<0.05, **p<0.01. Error bars are +/− SEM. See also Figure S3.