FIG 7.

Antibiotics in drinking water lead to temporary weight loss due to reduced water and calorie intake. (A, B, and D) C57BL/6J mice were treated with antibiotics for 2 weeks, and weight (n = 24 mice/group) (means ± SEM) (A), water intake (n = 7 to 20 cages/group) (means ± SEM) (B), and food intake (n = 6 cages/group) (means ± SEM) (D) were recorded. (C) Mice were bled at day 4, and hematocrit was measured (n = 5 mice/group) (means ± SEM). (E) Survival curve of mice treated with antibiotics for 3 weeks and challenged intranasally with 4 × 10⁸ CFU of TH16 (n = 5 to 10 mice/group). (F and G) Weight (n = 20 mice/group) (means ± SEM) (F) and water intake (n = 4 cages/group) (means ± SEM) (G) of mice treated with antibiotics for 3 weeks. (H) Weight of mice treated with individual antibiotics (n = 5 to 15 mice/group) (means ± SEM). (I) Survival curve of mice treated with individual antibiotics and challenged intranasally with 4 × 10⁸ CFU of TH16 (n = 5 to 15 mice/group). (J) Survival curve of mice treated with metronidazole (1 g/L) and ampicillin (1 g/L) in their drinking water for 2 weeks and switched to antibiotic-free water 1 day prior to challenge. Mice were challenged intranasally with 4 × 10⁸ CFU of TH16 (n = 5 to 15 mice/group). Statistical analysis was performed using two-way ANOVA with a Šídák posttest (A, B, D, F, G, and J), Student’s t test (C), and a log rank (Mantel-Cox) test (J). *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.005; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001.