The effects of a Western Diet and repeated fecal microbiota transplantation from human donors on phenotypic parameters, liver accumulation of fatty acids, and gut metagenomics and metabolomics profiles in Mtarc2 knockout mice

This study evaluated the impact of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on phenotypic outcomes, liver accumulation of fatty acids (FAs), and modifications to the gut microbial community, as well as the abundance of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and amino acids (AAs), in both sexes of Mtarc2 knockout (Mtarc2-KO) and C57BL/6N mice fed a Western Diet (WD).Mice were fed a WD (study groups) or normal diet (control groups) and were subjected to intestinal flushing with either a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution (study groups) or water (control groups); this was followed by intragastrical administration of a human feces suspension (study groups) or water (control groups). Liver FA composition and fecal SCFAs and AAs were measured by mass spectrometry. Metagenomic-based analysis was performed by sequencing the variable V3 and V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene.