Abstract
AbstractResearchers have advocated elevating mouse housing temperatures from the conventional ~22 °C to the mouse thermoneutral point of 30 °C to enhance translational research. However, the impact of environmental temperature on mouse gastrointestinal physiology remains largely unexplored. Here we show that mice raised at 22 °C exhibit whole gut transit speed nearly twice as fast as those raised at 30 °C, primarily driven by a threefold increase in colon transit speed. Furthermore, gut microbiota composition differs between the two temperatures but does not dictate temperature-dependent differences in gut motility. Notably, increased stress signals from the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis at 22 °C have a pivotal role in mediating temperature-dependent differences in gut motility. Pharmacological and genetic depletion of the stress hormone corticotropin-releasing hormone slows gut motility in stressed 22 °C mice but has no comparable effect in relatively unstressed 30 °C mice. In conclusion, our findings highlight that colder mouse facility temperatures significantly increase gut motility through hormonal stress pathways.
Funder
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health
National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant recipient.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Mental Health
The Firmenich Foundation
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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