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Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin-treated SPF mice as gnotobiotic model

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Abstract

The experiment was carried out on 24 SPF BALB/c female mice and lasted for 15 days with a 5-day antibiotic (ATB) treatment and then 10 days without ATB treatment. The aim of our study was to acquire an animal model with reduced and controlled microflora and, at the same time, to ensure that the good health of these animals is maintained. Per oral administration of amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium in Amoksiklav (Sandoz, Slovenia) at a dose of 387.11 mg/kg body weight (0.2 ml of dilution per mouse) and subcutaneous administration of ciprofloxacin in Ciloxan (Alcon, Spain) at a dose of 18.87 mg/kg body weight (0.1 ml of dilution per mouse) were performed every 12 h during first 5 days of experiment. Five-day treatment with ATB led to a reduced survivability of microorganisms in faeces (28.33 ± 0.43 % on day 2) and caecum content (28.10 ± 1.56 %), where no cultivable microorganisms in faeces were present. Ten-day convalescence of decontaminated animals under gnotobiotic conditions prevented recovery of species diversity in mice gut microflora. This was reduced to two detectable cultivable species, namely Escherichia coli (GenBank KX086704) and Enterococcus sp. (GenBank KX086705) which were capable to restore its metabolic (CRL 2012) and morphological potential (Baratta et al. Histochem Cell Biol 131:713–726, 2009) within physiological range. Animals obtained under this procedure can be used in further studies. As a result, we created a mouse gnoto model with reduced and controlled microflora without alteration of the overall health status of the respective animals.

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Acknowledgments

This publication was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV-0199-11, by the project no. 26220220152 implementation supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the ERDF and project VEGA no. 1/0009/15.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice, Košice, Slovakia

    Miroslav Popper, Soňa Gancarčíková, Marián Maďar, Dagmar Mudroňová & Radomíra Nemcová

  2. Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovakia

    Gabriela Hrčková

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  1. Miroslav Popper
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  2. Soňa Gancarčíková
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  3. Marián Maďar
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  6. Radomíra Nemcová
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Correspondence to Miroslav Popper.

Ethics declarations

The experiment was carried out at the Department of Microbiology and Gnotobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy (UVMP), Košice, Slovakia. The State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic approved the experimental protocol number 1177/14-221, and the animals were handled and sacrificed in a humane manner in accordance with the guidelines established by the relevant commission. All applicable international, national and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

Funding

This study was funded by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract no. APVV-0199-11, by the project no. 26220220152 implementation supported by the Research & Development Operational Programme funded by the ERDF and project VEGA no. 1/0009/15.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The State Veterinary and Food Administration of the Slovak Republic approved the experimental protocol number 1177/14-221, and the animals were handled and sacrificed in a humane manner in accordance with the guidelines established by the relevant commission. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Popper, M., Gancarčíková, S., Maďar, M. et al. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ciprofloxacin-treated SPF mice as gnotobiotic model. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 100, 9671–9682 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7855-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-016-7855-3

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