Figure 1. Murine Stress Induces Weight Loss and Features of Diarrhea.
(A) Murine restraint stress model. 50 mL conical tubes with airholes were used for restraint for 2 h/day for 7 days. Food and water were withheld from control mice. (B–F) Effects of stress model.
(B) Body weight (% change, n = 8–9, 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA).
(C) GI function: percentage of fecal water weight and number of fecal pellets expelled in 2-h duration on day 8 (n = 8–9).
(D) Peripheral Treg cell induction to Helicobacter. 5 × 104 naive congenically marked CT2 TCR transgenic cells were transferred on day 5 of stress and analyzed 3 days later for the induction of Foxp3IRES-GFP in the cdMLN (n = 6). Mice were stressed for the usual 7 days.
(E) Fraction of IgA-bound fecal bacteria (d8, n = 8–9).
(F) Colon histology. Representative sections from day 8 stressed versus control mice are shown (n = 5).
(G) Cholera toxin-induced diarrhea. Cholera toxin (10 μg) per rectum (p.r.) was administered on days 1 and 4 and analyzed on day 7 for fecal water weight and % IgA+ fecal bacteria (n = 5–7).
Data are presented as the mean ± SEM. Two to three independent experiments were performed and *p < 0.05 using Student’s t test unless otherwise indicated. See also Figure S1.