Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis: A robust model to study mucosal immune responses in the gut

• Published in: Journal of immunological methods Vol. 421; pp. 61 - 72
• Main Authors: Koroleva, Ekaterina P., Halperin, Sydney, Gubernatorova, Ekaterina O., Macho-Fernandez, Elise, Spencer, Cody M., Tumanov, Alexei V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Animals; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Citrobacter; Citrobacter rodentium; Citrobacter rodentium - immunology; Colitis - immunology; Colitis - microbiology; Colitis - pathology; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - immunology; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - microbiology; Enterobacteriaceae Infections - pathology; Host-Pathogen Interactions - immunology; Hyperplasia - immunology; Hyperplasia - microbiology; Immunity, Mucosal - immunology; Infection-induced colitis; Intestinal Mucosa - immunology; Intestinal Mucosa - microbiology; Intestinal Mucosa - pathology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Knockout; Mucosal model of inflammation; Infection-induced colitis; Mucosal model of inflammation; Citrobacter rodentium
• ISSN: 0022-1759; 1872-7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2015.02.003

Citrobacter rodentium is a natural mouse pathogen which reproducibly infects mice and causes intestinal disease. The C. rodentium model of infection is very useful for investigating host–pathogen immune interactions in the gut, and can also be used to understand the pathogenesis of several important human intestinal disorders, including Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, dysbiosis and colon tumorigenesis. Both innate and adaptive immune responses play a critical role in protection against C. rodentium. Here, we summarize the role of immune components in protection against C. rodentium and describe techniques for the analysis of innate and adaptive mucosal immune responses, including setting up the infection, analysis of colonic hyperplasia and bacterial dissemination, evaluation of antibody responses, and purification and analysis of intestinal epithelial and lymphoid cells. •Citrobacter rodentium — a model pathogen to study gut immune responses.•Innate and adaptive immune components contribute to protection against C. rodentium.•We describe protocols for the analysis of immune responses against C. rodentium.•A protocol for purification of intestinal epithelial cells has been developed.