Gnotobiotic Pig Model for Dysbiosis and Enteric Immunity

Lijuan Yuan of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in collaboration with Sylvia Becker-Dreps and Andrea Azcarate-Peril from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the U.S. and Samuel Vilchez from University of Nicaragua will develop a pig model with impaired intestinal function and altered types of gut microbes to mimic the condition of many children in developing countries who do not respond to vaccines against rotavirus infection, which causes infectious diarrhea. They will implant stools from vaccine-responsive and non-responsive children in Nicaragua into the pigs and use them to identify factors that improve vaccine-mediated immune responses. This model can also be used to test disease prevention strategies, such as feeding probiotics or special diets.