HIV Tat expression and cocaine exposure lead to sex- and age-specific changes of the microbiota composition in the gut

In this study, we took advantage of iTat mice, exposed them to cocaine, and determined the changes of the gut microbiota in response to Tat expression and chronic cocaine exposure. Specifically, we harvested large intestines of the mice, extracted the DNA from the tissues, constructed 16S rRNA gene libraries, performed the metagenomic sequencing, and determined the abundance, composition, and diversity of the gut microbiota. Mice of two different ages 6 and 12 months old were included in the study. All the data were stratified by genotypes (WT/iTat), treatment (saline/cocaine, SA/CA), ages (6/12 months), and sexes (male/female).