Guidelines for reporting on animal fecal transplantation (GRAFT) studies: recommendations from a systematic review of murine transplantation protocols
Gut Microbes. 2021-01-01; 13(1):
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1979878
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1. Gut Microbes. 2021 Jan-Dec;13(1):1979878. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1979878.
Guidelines for reporting on animal fecal transplantation (GRAFT) studies:
recommendations from a systematic review of murine transplantation protocols.
Secombe KR(1), Al-Qadami GH(1), Subramaniam CB(1), Bowen JM(1), Scott J(1)(2),
Van Sebille YZA(3), Snelson M(4), Cowan C(5), Clarke G(6), Gheorghe CE(7), Cryan
JF(8), Wardill HR(1)(2).
Author information:
(1)School of Biomedicine, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide,
Adelaide, SA, Australia.
(2)Precision Medicine Theme (Cancer), South Australian Health and Medical
Research Institute, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
(3)UniSA Online, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
(4)Department of Diabetes, Central Clinical School, Monash University,
Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
(5)School of Psychology and Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney,
NSW, Australia.
(6)Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioural Science, Department of Anatomy
and Neuroscience, and APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork,
Ireland.
(7)Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioural Science and APC Microbiome
Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
(8)Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience and APC Microbiome Ireland, University
College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a powerful tool used to connect changes in
gut microbial composition with a variety of disease states and pathologies.
While FMT enables potential causal relationships to be identified, the
experimental details reported in preclinical FMT protocols are highly
inconsistent and/or incomplete. This limitation reflects a current lack of
authoritative guidance on reporting standards that would facilitate replication
efforts and ultimately reproducible science. We therefore systematically
reviewed all FMT protocols used in mouse models with the goal of formulating
recommendations on the reporting of preclinical FMT protocols. Search strategies
were applied across three databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and Ovid Medline) until
June 30, 2020. Data related to donor attributes, stool collection,
processing/storage, recipient preparation, administration, and quality control
were extracted. A total of 1753 papers were identified, with 241 identified for
data extraction and analysis. Of the papers included, 92.5% reported a positive
outcome with FMT intervention. However, the vast majority of studies failed to
address core methodological aspects including the use of anaerobic conditions
(91.7% of papers lacked information), storage (49.4%), homogenization (33.6%),
concentration (31.5%), volume (19.9%) and administration route (5.3%). To
address these reporting limitations, we developed theGuidelines for Reporting
Animal Fecal Transplant (GRAFT) that guide reporting standards for preclinical
FMT. The GRAFT recommendations will enable robust reporting of preclinical FMT
design, and facilitate high-quality peer review, improving the rigor and
translation of knowledge gained through preclinical FMT studies.
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1979878
PMCID: PMC8489962
PMID: 34586011 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
Conflict of interest statement: The authors report no conflict of interest.