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Intricate regulation of tolerance to the intestinal commensal microbiota acquired at birth is critical. We hypothesized that epithelial cell tolerance toward early gram-positive and gram-negative colonizing bacteria is established immediately after birth, as has previously been shown for endotoxin. Gene expression in the intestine of mouse pups born to dams that were either colonized with a conventional microbiota or monocolonized (Lactobacillus acidophilus or Eschericia coli) or germ free was examined on day 1 and day 6 after birth. Intestinal epithelial cells from all groups of pups were stimulated ex vivo with L. acidophilus and E. coli to assess tolerance establishment. Intestine from pups exposed to a conventional microbiota displayed lower expression of Ccl2, Ccl3, Cxcl1, Cxcl2, and Tslp than germ-free mice, whereas genes encoding proteins in Toll-like receptor signaling pathways and cytokines were upregulated. When comparing pups on day 1 and day 6 after birth, a specific change in gene expression pattern was evident in all groups of mice. Tolerance to ex vivo stimulation with E. coli was only established in conventional animals. Colonization of the intestine was reflected in the spleen displaying downregulation of Cxcl2 compared with germ-free animals on day 1 after birth. Colonization reduced the expression of genes involved in antigen presentation in the intestine-draining mesenteric lymph nodes, but not in the popliteal lymph nodes, as evidenced by gene expression on day 23 after birth. We propose that microbial detection systems in the intestine are upregulated by colonization with a diverse microbiota, whereas expression of proinflammatory chemokines is reduced to avoid excess recruitment of immune cells to the maturing intestine.

The growth physiology of Escherichia coli during colonization of the intestinal tract was studied with four animal models: the streptomycin-treated mouse carrying a reduced microflora, the monoassociated mouse with no other microflora than the introduced strain, the conventionalized streptomycin-treated mouse, and the conventionalized monoassociated mouse harboring a full microflora. A 23S rRNA fluorescent oligonucleotide probe was used for hybridization to whole E. coli cells fixed directly after being taken from the animals, and the respective growth rates of E. coli BJ4 in the four animal models were estimated by correlating the cellular concentrations of ribosomes with the growth rate of the strain. The growth rates thus estimated from the ribosomal content of E. coli BJ4 in vivo did not differ in the streptomycin-treated and the monoassociated mice. After conventionalization there was a slight decrease of the bacterial growth rates in both animal models.