Low dietary fiber intake impairs small intestinal Th17 and intraepithelial T cell development over generations
Charlotte J. Royer,
Naomi Rodriguez-Marino,
Madelyn D. Yaceczko,
Dormarie E. Rivera-Rodriguez,
Thomas R. Ziegler,
Luisa Cervantes-Barragan
Affiliations
Charlotte J. Royer
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Naomi Rodriguez-Marino
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Madelyn D. Yaceczko
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Dormarie E. Rivera-Rodriguez
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Emory Vaccine Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Thomas R. Ziegler
Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipids and Center for Clinical and Molecular Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Luisa Cervantes-Barragan
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Dietary fiber strongly impacts the microbiota. Here, we show that a low-fiber diet changes the small intestinal (SI) microbiota and impairs SI Th17, TCRαβ+CD8αβ+ and TCRαβ+CD8αα+ intraepithelial T cell development. We restore T cell development with dietary fiber supplementation, but this defect becomes persistent over generations with constant low-fiber diets. Offspring of low-fiber diet-fed mice have reduced SI T cells even after receiving a fiber-rich diet due to loss of bacteria important for T cell development. In these mice, only a microbiota transplant from a fiber-rich diet-fed mouse and a fiber-rich diet can restore T cell development. Low-fiber diets reduce segmented filamentous bacteria (SFB) abundance, impairing its vertical transmission. SFB colonization and a fiber-rich diet partially restore T cell development. Finally, we observe that low-fiber diet-induced T cell defects render mice more susceptible to Citrobacter rodentium infection. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of fiber to microbiota vertical transmission and host immune system development.
