Transcriptomics of the traditional Japanese medicine juzentaihoto (JTX) on large intestines on germfree mice. Mus musculus

Juzehtaihoto, a Japanese traditional medicine has been used for the treatment of various kinds of diseases or disorders in an enteric-flora dependent manner. Here, we performed transcriptome analysis using Affymetrix GeneChip on large intestine (LI) of germ-free (GF) and specific pathogen free (SPF) mice of IQI, an inbred strain established from ICR, and BALB/c SPF mice. Overall design: Male germ-free (GF) and specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice of IQI and BALB/c strains were bred and maintained in the laboratory of Central Institute for Experimental Animals (CIEA, Kawasaki, Kanagwa, Japan). GF mice were housed in a Trexler-type flexible film isolator in a standard germ free state and screened on a weekly basis for germ-free status by sampling feces sterilely and culturing on MRS-agar plates under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. All the GF, SPF, ex-GF mice were kept in a 12: 12-h light/dark cycle and at a temperature of 22±2°C. Nine week old mice (n=3) were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the intestines were dissected. comparison of the mice with or without enteric flora; comparison of the mice of different strains