Increased susceptibility to Trichuris muris infection and
exacerbation of colitis in Mdr1a-/- mice

Bhardwaj, EK; Else, K; Rogan, MT; Warhurst, G

Abstract

AIM: To investigate the influence of Trichuris muris (T.
muris ) infection in a mouse model of genetic susceptibility
to inflammatory bowel disease, Mdr1a-/-.
METHODS: Mdr1a-/- mice were housed under specific
pathogen free conditions to slow the development of
colitis and compared to congenic FVB controls. Mice
were infected with approximately 200 embryonated ova
from T. muris and assessed for worm burden and histological
and functional markers of gut inflammation on
day 19 post infection.
RESULTS: Mdr1a-/- mice exhibited a marked increase
in susceptibility to T. muris infection with a 10-fold increase
in colonic worm count by day 19 pi compared
to FVB controls. Prior to infection, Mdr1a-/- exhibited
low-level mucosal inflammation with evidence of an enhanced
Th1 environment. T. muris infection accelerated
the progression of colitis in Mdr1a-/- as evidenced by
marked increases in several indicators including histological
damage score, mucosal CD4+ T-cell and DC infiltration
and dramatically increased production of proinflammatory
cytokines.
CONCLUSION: These data provide further evidence
of the complex interaction between T. muris and an inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD)-susceptible host which
may have relevance to the application of helminth
therapy in the treatment of human IBD.

Citation

exacerbation of colitis in Mdr1a-/- mice. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 20(7), 1797-1806. https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1797

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Feb 21, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jan 19, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: May 2, 2018
• Journal: World Journal of Gastroenterology
• Print ISSN: 1007-9327
• Electronic ISSN: ISSN-2219-2840
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1797-1806
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1797
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v20.i7.1797
• Related Public URLs: http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/index.htm