A Novel Surgical Method for Continuous Intra-Portal Infusion of Gut Microbial Metabolites in Mice

Gut microbial-derived metabolites have been shown to play key roles in human physiology and disease. However, establishing mechanistic links between gut microbial metabolites and disease pathogenesis in animal models presents many challenges. The major route of absorption for microbe-derived small molecules is venous drainage via the portal vein to the liver. In the event of extensive liver first pass- or presystemic hepatic metabolism, the route of administration of these metabolites becomes critical. Here we describe a novel portal vein cannulation technique using a subcutaneously implanted osmotic pump to achieve continuous portal vein infusion in mice. First, the microbial metabolite trimethylamine (TMA) was administered over 4 weeks and compared to a vehicle control. Using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), an increase in peripheral plasma levels of TMA and its host liver-derived co-metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) were observed in a sexually-dimorphic manner. Next, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (4-HPAA), a structurally distinct microbial metabolite that undergoes extensive hepatic first pass metabolism, was administered intraportally to examine effects on hepatic gene expression. As expected, there was no difference in peripheral plasma 4-HPAA levels yet liver tissue demonstrated higher levels of 4-HPAA when compared to the control group. More importantly, significant changes were observed in hepatic gene expression using an unbiased RNA sequencing approach. Collectively, this work describes a novel method for administering gut microbe-derived metabolites via the portal vein, mimicking their physiologic delivery in vivo. Importance Recent efforts have underscored the importance of the gut microbial community as a meta-endocrine organ impacting host physiology through systemic delivery of gut-microbial metabolites [Brown and Hazen, 2015]. Microbial metabolites are first delivered to the liver via the portal vein following venous drainage of the gastrointestinal tract. This route of absorption is often crucial by allowing the liver to biotransfrom these molecules prior to entering the peripheral circulation. Microbial metabolites are frequently studied in animal models by incorporation into diet or drinking water. This method falls short as inconsistent oral intake, inconsistent gastrointestinal absorption, and further modification of the metabolite by gut microbes yield imprecise levels of drug delivery. In efforts to overcome this, the physiological impact of microbial metabolites is often studied by intermittent exogenous administration of a metabolite in a non-physiologically relevant manner such as intravenous injection, intraperitoneal injection, or subcutaneous administration, all placing a relatively large proportion of the metabolite directly into the peripheral circulation. Although these approaches can effectively raise circulating metabolites levels in some cases, they do not mimic the natural delivery of gut microbial-derived small molecules through the portal circulation to the liver. Here we describe a novel surgical method to continuously deliver precise amounts of gut microbial metabolites intraportally to better recapitulate the natural systemic delivery route of microbial metabolites to the liver. This model will improve the interrogation of gut microbial metabolites and their associations to disease by providing an unmatched level of resolution when manipulating the portal blood metabolome.