Fig. 5

Effect of transferring PAT-altered microbiota to germ-free mice on DSS-induced colitis and intestinal microbial community. a Schematic of the transfer experiment. Six-week old germ-free (GF) mice were gavaged with either PAT-perturbed (n = 5) or control (n = 4) cecal contents from P40 donor mice (30 days after the end of the PAT or control exposure). The now-conventionalized recipient mice (3 PAT and 2 control) were challenged with DSS 5 days after the cecal transfer. b–e Used the same measurements and criteria as in Fig. 1, except at the time points reflecting the different study designs. f Histology of the colon in control and PAT recipients. Magnification × 10, H&E staining. Individual scores for inflammation, epithelial injury, atrophy, and dysplasia. g Representatives of differences in mean colon length between control and PAT recipients. h Intestinal permeability measured by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran in blood. Two-way ANOVA and unpaired t test were used for comparisons. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.0001