Interplay between gonadal hormones and postnatal overfeeding in defining sex-dependent differences in gut microbiota architecture.

ABSTRACT: Aging is associated with a decline in sex hormones, variable between sexes, that has an impact on many different body systems and might contribute to age-related disease progression. We aimed to characterize the sex differences in gut microbiota, and to explore the impact of depletion of gonadal hormones, alone or combined with postnatal overfeeding, in rats. Many of the differences in the gut microbiota between sexes persisted after gonadectomy, but removal of gonadal hormones shaped several gut microbiota features towards a more deleterious profile, the effect being greater in females than in males, mainly when animals were concurrently overfed. Moreover, we identified several intestinal miRNAs as potential mediators of the impact of changes in gut microbiota on host organism physiology.

SUBMITTER: Santos-Marcos JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7655199 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature