Fecal transplants modulate a high-fat diet-related alterations of gut microbiota in mice

Background. The intestinal microbiota is altered in obese human subjects and in animal models of obesity. Transplantation of feces from lean, healthy donors to obese recipients has been shown to improve peripheral insulin sensitivity in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Aim. We examined the gut microbiota in mice after administering a long-term, high-fat diet (HFD) supplemented with feces from lean mice Methods. Forty-eight C57BL6/W mice were allowed to adapt to a non-specific pathogen free (SFP) environment for 2 weeks before being divided into three groups of 16 animals. Animals in each group were fed for 28 weeks with a normal diet (ND), HFD, or HFD supplemented with feces from ND-fed mice (HFDS). The composition of colonizing bacteria was evaluated in mice droppings collected under SPF conditions at the beginning of the study (week 0) and at 12 and 28 weeks using an Ion 16S Metagenomics Kit on an Ion Torrent PGM