Microbiome and colitis: a new approach
one issue in current microbiome research is that there are often associations between certain microbial species found in the gut microbiome and certain disease or health states, but the direct cause/effect link is not clear. these researchers, looking at a colitis model in mice, derived an improved approach in assessing causality (see doi:10.1038/nature25019 ). Background: --they studied gnotobiotic mice (ie, mice with known gut microbiomes), some mice with mouse microbiota (MMb) and some with human microbiota (HMb); and also some specific-pathogen free (SPF) mice --these mice were exposed to DSS (dextran sodium sulfate), known to cause colitis in mice --in MMb mice, the colitis was clinically associated with severe weight loss and 100% mortality --in HMb mice, as well as SPF mice, they lose less weight and rarely die; but the degree of microscopic colonic inflam...