Differential colitis susceptibility of Th1- and Th2-biased mice: A multi-omics approach

PLoS One. 2022 Mar 9;17(3):e0264400. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264400. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The health and economic burden of colitis is increasing globally. Understanding the role of host genetics and metagenomics is essential to establish the molecular basis of colitis pathogenesis. In the present study, we have used a common composite dose of DSS to compare the differential disease severity response in C57BL/6 (Th1 biased) and BALB/c (Th2 biased) mice with zero mortality rates. We employed multi-omics approaches and developed a newer vector analysis approach to understand the molecular basis of the disease pathogenesis. In the current report, comparative transcriptomics, metabonomics, and metagenomics analyses revealed that the Th1 background of C57BL/6 induced intense inflammatory responses throughout the treatment period. On the contrary, the Th2 background of BALB/c resisted severe inflammatory responses by modulating the host's inflammatory, metabolic, and gut microbial profile. The multi-omics approach also helped us discover some unique metabolic and microbial markers associated with the disease severity. These biomarkers could be used in diagnostics.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Colitis* / chemically induced
  • Colitis* / genetics
  • Colitis* / pathology
  • Metagenomics
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Th1 Cells* / pathology
  • Th2 Cells / pathology

Grants and funding

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.