Indoor Rewilding of Laboratory Mice Recalibrates Pulmonary Mucosal Immunity and Mechanics

Abstract

Laboratory mice raised under specific-pathogen-free (SPF) conditions experience restricted microbial and antigenic exposure, which favours an immature immune system and limits their translational value for respiratory research. While microbial enrichment in "dirty" mouse models restores immune maturation, its impact on integrated respiratory function and model transferability to human disease remains understudied. Here, we tested whether ecological exposure through indoor rewilding of SPF-reared mice could reshape immune complexity and recalibrate pulmonary physiology. Two-month-old female C57BL/6J mice were housed for three months under SPF or indoor-rewilding conditions and assessed for immune, mechanical, and systemic parameters. Rewilded mice exhibited expanded pulmonary immune subsets, increased dendritic-cell immune checkpoint, with TNF/IFN-{gamma} activation coupled to regulatory IL-10 signaling. Despite sustained exposure, the alveolar-capillary barrier integrity was preserved. Functionally, respiratory oscillometry revealed improved pulmonary mechanics, including lower airway resistance, higher compliance, and reduced airway responsiveness to methacholine. Systemic cytokine analyses indicated compartmentalized pulmonary immune activation, maintaining an overall anti-inflammatory balance. Importantly, PRIA screening detected no reportable pathogens introduced during rewilding, while cecal shotgun metagenomics confirmed microbial enrichment. Together, these findings demonstrate that indoor rewilding reestablishes coordinated lung immune and mechanical homeostasis in SPF-reared mice, providing a safe and scalable model for studying human-like mucosal immunity and respiratory physiology with broad implications for preclinical respiratory research and therapeutic testing.