Several animal and human studies have shown sex differences in gut microbiota, but the results are inconsistent. A study in Communications Biology provides new insights into the effects of testosterone and sex on the mouse gut microbiome by comparing the gut microbiome of male and female mice before and after puberty. The results indicated differences in the microbiome composition between male and female mice, which could only be seen after puberty. Notably, male mice had higher relative abundance of the class Clostridiales than female mice after puberty, while female mice had a higher abundance of Turicibacter, a genus that has been linked to depression and obesity in mice. When exploring the effects of testosterone supplementation in vivo, the investigators found that testosterone affected gut microbiota and metabolomes in both male and female mice. These results suggest that there is a shift in the microbiome after puberty, which is partially caused by the higher levels of sex hormones, mainly testosterone, in the body.

Original reference: Moadi, L. et al. Commun. Biol. 7, 880 (2024)

一些动物和人类研究表明肠道微生物群存在性别差异，但结果并不一致。 《通讯生物学》上的一项研究通过比较雄性和雌性小鼠青春期前后的肠道微生物组，为睾酮和性别对小鼠肠道微生物组的影响提供了新的见解。结果表明，雄性和雌性小鼠之间的微生物组组成存在差异，这种差异只有在青春期后才能看到。值得注意的是，雄性小鼠在青春期后比雌性小鼠具有更高的梭菌目相对丰度，而雌性小鼠则具有更高的图里奇杆菌属丰度，该属与小鼠抑郁和肥胖有关。在探索补充睾酮的体内效果时，研究人员发现睾酮会影响雄性和雌性小鼠的肠道微生物群和代谢组。这些结果表明，青春期后微生物群发生了变化，部分原因是体内性激素（主要是睾酮）水平升高所致。

原始参考文献： Moadi, L. et al 。交流。生物。 7 , 880 (2024)