Utilizing Gnotobiotic Mice to Understand the Role of the Microbiome in Murine Disease Models

Presented By: Caitlin SL Parello, Ph.D.

Description:

The environmentally exposed surfaces of mammals, such as the skin, mouth, gut, and vagina, are colonized by a diverse ecosystem of microbes. Though many of these bacteria – particularly those of the distal gut – are considered symbiotic, the microbiome has the capacity to induce both pro- and anti- inflammatory responses. Accumulating evidence suggests that a properly balanced gut microbiome is crucial for a correctly functioning immune system, and that imbalances in the microbial community of the intestine are linked to a multitude of auto-inflammatory and auto-immune diseases. This symposium will discuss the roles of the microbiome in murine models of various inflammatory disease states, and the advantages to utilizing germ-free/gnotobiotic mice when probing disease models with a microbiome component.

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