Prophylactic Oral Application of Activated Charcoal Mitigates Acute Campylobacteriosis in Human Gut Microbiota-Associated IL-10 Mice.

The incidence of human infections is increasing worldwide. It is highly desirable to prevent campylobacteriosis in individuals at risk for severe disease with antibiotics-independent non-toxic compounds. Activated charcoal (AC) has long been used as an anti-diarrheal remedy. Here, we tested the disease-mitigating effects of oral AC versus placebo in human gut microbiota-associated (hma) IL-10 mice starting a week prior to infection. On day 6 post-infection, the gastrointestinal loads were comparable in both infected cohorts, whereas campylobacteriosis symptoms such as wasting and bloody diarrhea were mitigated upon AC prophylaxis. Furthermore, AC application resulted in less pronounced -induced colonic epithelial cell apoptosis and in dampened innate and adaptive immune cell responses in the colon that were accompanied by basal concentrations of pro-inflammatory mediators including IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and nitric oxide measured in colonic explants from AC treated mice on day 6 post-infection. Furthermore, infection resulted in distinct fecal microbiota shift towards higher enterobacterial numbers and lower loads of obligate anaerobic species in hma mice that were AC-independent. In conclusion, our pre-clinical placebo-controlled intervention study provides evidence that prophylactic oral AC application mitigates acute murine campylobacteriosis.