{
  "abstract": "Globally, almost half of all early childhood deaths are linked to severe undernutrition, herein referred to as severe malnutrition. Mortality in severely malnourished children is often attributed to common infectious diseases, including enteric infections. It has been proposed that impaired intestinal barrier function contributes to mortality, but direct evidence is limited and thus there exists a need to develop improved preclinical models to test these and other mechanistic hypotheses. In this study, we aimed to describe differences in response to enteric inflammation and infection in the colon of malnourished mice compared to well-nourished littermates. C57Bl/6 male weanlings were fed isocaloric diets, either a low 1% protein diet (LPD) or a control 18% protein diet (CPD) for 2-weeks either in combination with oral administration of dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), or Citrobacter rodentium (C. rodentium). LPD-fed mice were more susceptible to DSS or C. rodentium as evidenced by increased clinical severity scores, and reaching their humane endpoints. LPD-fed mice also showed more signs of colonic dysfunction with reduced levels of tight junction proteins, higher colonic pathogen load, and increased systemic inflammation and bacterial spread. Taken together, these observations show that malnourished animals have increased susceptibility to intestinal dysfunction caused by either chemical exposure or infection. These novel preclinical models can be used to further elucidate the processes involved in enteric dysfunction in malnutrition and to test therapies to improve intestinal repair and outcomes.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Translational Medicine Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Department of Cardiology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands",
    "Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Western University and London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada",
    "Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada",
    "Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Centre for Child Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Mehakpreet K. Thind"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mary Flanagan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Sanne de Wit"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Aida Glembocki"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Jiali Pan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Celine Cuinat"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sharon Leung"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Shamsun Nahar Shaima"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Hamza Sghayare"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Kinza Usmani"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mishaal Munawar"
    },
    {
      "name": "Peter Kim"
    },
    {
      "name": "Elena M. Comelli"
    },
    {
      "name": "Amber Farooqui"
    },
    {
      "name": "Celine Bourdon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Robert H. J. Bandsma"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4f2qk7y3dytrp.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0335322",
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  "id": "4f2qk7y3dytrp",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335322",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2916|Child Nutrition and Water Access"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract/Colon"
    ],
    [
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    ],
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    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Nutrition/Malnutrition"
    ],
    [
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      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract/Colon"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Clinical medicine/Signs and symptoms/Inflammation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Immunology/Immune response/Inflammation"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Diet"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Nutrition/Malnutrition"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Pathology and laboratory medicine/Pathogens/Microbial pathogens/Bacterial pathogens"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Animal models/Mouse models"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Animal studies/Experimental organism systems/Model organisms/Mouse models"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Model organisms/Mouse models"
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  ],
  "openalex": "W7220846849",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0335322&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4f2qk7y3dytrp.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0335322",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335322"
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:immunology",
      "subfield": "immunology"
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    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:nutrition",
      "subfield": "nutrition"
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    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:anatomy",
      "subfield": "physiology"
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  ],
  "title": "Feeding a low-protein diet exacerbates the susceptibility to Citrobacter rodentium and dextran sulfate sodium-induced intestinal injury in mice",
  "title_text": "Feeding a low-protein diet exacerbates the susceptibility to Citrobacter rodentium and dextran sulfate sodium-induced intestinal injury in mice",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4f2qk7y3dytrp",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}