In vivo photolabeling of cells in the colon to assess migratory potential of hematopoietic cells in neonatal mice

Abstract

Enteric bacterial communities are established early in life and influence immune cell development and function. The neonatal microbiota is susceptible to numerous external influences including antibiotics use and diet, which impacts susceptibility to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Disorders such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are characterized by a massive influx of immune cells to the intestines. However, immune cells conditioned by the microbiota may additionally emigrate out of the intestines to influence immune responses at extra-intestinal sites. Thus, there is a need to identify and characterize cells that may carry microbial messages from the intestines to distal sites. Here, we describe a method to label cells in the colon of newborn mice in vivo that enables their identification at extra-intestinal sites after migration.