Description
Gut dysbiosis and host genetics are implicated as causative factors in inflammatory bowel disease, yet mechanistic insights are lacking. Longitudinal analysis of ulcerative colitis patients following total colectomy with ileal anal anastomosis (IPAA) where >50% develop pouchitis, offers a unique setting to examine cause vs. effect. To recapitulate human IPAA, we employed a mouse model of surgically-created blind self-filling (SFL) and self-emptying (SEL) ileal loops. SFL exhibit fecal stasis due to directional peristalsis motility oriented towards away from the loop end, whereas SEL remain empty. In wild type mice, SFL, but not SEL, develop pouch-like microbial communities without accompanying active inflammation. However, in genetically susceptible IL-10-/- deficient mice, SFL, but not SEL, exhibit severe inflammation and mucosal transcriptomes resembling human pouchitis. Germ-free IL10-/- mice conventionalized with wild type SFL, but not SEL, microbiota, develop severe colitis. These data demonstrate an essential role for fecal stasis, gut dysbiosis, and genetic susceptibility and offer insights into human pouchitis and ulcerative colitis.