Impact of gut microbiota and diet on the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE−/− mice
Jonsson, Annika Lindskog ; Caesar, Robert ; Akrami, Rozita ; Reinhardt, Christoph ; Hållenius, Frida Fåk LU
; Borén, Jan
and Bäckhed, Fredrik
(2018)
In Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
38(10).
p.2318-2326
- Abstract
Objective: To investigate the effect of gut microbiota and diet on atherogenesis. Approach and Results: Here, we investigated the interaction between the gut microbiota and diet on atherosclerosis by feeding germ-free or conventionally raised Apoe−/− mice chow or Western diet alone or supplemented with choline (which is metabolized by the gut microbiota and host enzymes to trimethylamine N-oxide) for 12 weeks. We observed smaller aortic lesions and lower plasma cholesterol levels in conventionally raised mice compared with germ-free mice on a chow diet; these differences were not observed in mice on a Western diet. Choline supplementation increased plasma trimethylamine N-oxide levels in conventionally raised mice but not in... (More)
Objective: To investigate the effect of gut microbiota and diet on atherogenesis. Approach and Results: Here, we investigated the interaction between the gut microbiota and diet on atherosclerosis by feeding germ-free or conventionally raised Apoe−/− mice chow or Western diet alone or supplemented with choline (which is metabolized by the gut microbiota and host enzymes to trimethylamine N-oxide) for 12 weeks. We observed smaller aortic lesions and lower plasma cholesterol levels in conventionally raised mice compared with germ-free mice on a chow diet; these differences were not observed in mice on a Western diet. Choline supplementation increased plasma trimethylamine N-oxide levels in conventionally raised mice but not in germ-free mice. However, this treatment did not affect the size of aortic lesions or plasma cholesterol levels. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. As expected, the global community structure and relative abundance of many taxa differed between mice fed chow or a Western diet. Choline supplementation had minor effects on the community structure although the relative abundance of some taxa belonging to Clostridiales was altered. Conclusions: In conclusion, the impact of the gut microbiota on atherosclerosis is dietary dependent and is associated with plasma cholesterol levels. Furthermore, the microbiota was required for trimethylamine N-oxide production from dietary choline, but this process could not be linked to increased atherosclerosis in this model.
(Less)
- author
- Jonsson, Annika Lindskog
; Caesar, Robert
; Akrami, Rozita
; Reinhardt, Christoph
; Hållenius, Frida Fåk
LU
; Borén, Jan
and Bäckhed, Fredrik
- publishing date
- 2018
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Animals, Atherosclerosis, Choline, Gastrointestinal microbiome, Mice
- in
- Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
- volume
- 38
- issue
- 10
- pages
- 9 pages
- publisher
- Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:29903735
- scopus:85053921073
- ISSN
- 1079-5642
- DOI
- 10.1161/ATVBAHA.118.311233
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Authors. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology is published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited, the use is noncommercial, and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- id
- b53e66a6-7c65-4760-bec3-7fad162fad7e
- date added to LUP
- 2024-12-05 12:49:56
- date last changed
- 2025-07-04 06:40:20
@article{b53e66a6-7c65-4760-bec3-7fad162fad7e,
abstract = {{<p>Objective: To investigate the effect of gut microbiota and diet on atherogenesis. Approach and Results: Here, we investigated the interaction between the gut microbiota and diet on atherosclerosis by feeding germ-free or conventionally raised Apoe<sup>−/−</sup> mice chow or Western diet alone or supplemented with choline (which is metabolized by the gut microbiota and host enzymes to trimethylamine N-oxide) for 12 weeks. We observed smaller aortic lesions and lower plasma cholesterol levels in conventionally raised mice compared with germ-free mice on a chow diet; these differences were not observed in mice on a Western diet. Choline supplementation increased plasma trimethylamine N-oxide levels in conventionally raised mice but not in germ-free mice. However, this treatment did not affect the size of aortic lesions or plasma cholesterol levels. Gut microbiota composition was analyzed by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. As expected, the global community structure and relative abundance of many taxa differed between mice fed chow or a Western diet. Choline supplementation had minor effects on the community structure although the relative abundance of some taxa belonging to Clostridiales was altered. Conclusions: In conclusion, the impact of the gut microbiota on atherosclerosis is dietary dependent and is associated with plasma cholesterol levels. Furthermore, the microbiota was required for trimethylamine N-oxide production from dietary choline, but this process could not be linked to increased atherosclerosis in this model.</p>}},
author = {{Jonsson, Annika Lindskog and Caesar, Robert and Akrami, Rozita and Reinhardt, Christoph and Hållenius, Frida Fåk and Borén, Jan and Bäckhed, Fredrik}},
issn = {{1079-5642}},
keywords = {{Animals; Atherosclerosis; Choline; Gastrointestinal microbiome; Mice}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{10}},
pages = {{2318--2326}},
publisher = {{Lippincott Williams & Wilkins}},
series = {{Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology}},
title = {{Impact of gut microbiota and diet on the development of atherosclerosis in ApoE<sup>−/−</sup> mice}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.118.311233}},
doi = {{10.1161/ATVBAHA.118.311233}},
volume = {{38}},
year = {{2018}},
}