The role of female-specific factors in influencing gut microbiome composition and functionality

Sinha, T. (Trisha) (2017) The role of female-specific factors in influencing gut microbiome composition and functionality. thesis, Medicine.

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Abstract

Background: Recent evidence suggests that the sexual dimorphism in gut microbiome composition is driven by sex hormones. The purpose of this study was to identify whether female-specific factors that cause a change in sex hormones, such as oral contraceptive use, menopause and gynaecological surgeries, are associated with female gut microbiome composition and functionality, and to compare this effect with environmental factors, such as diet and medication. Methods: For this study, 1221 participants (57.9% female) from two population-based cohorts (LifeLines DEEP and Genome of the Netherlands) were included. Participants answered various questions regarding diet, medications, diseases and smoking. Females answered questions related to oral contraceptive use, previous pregnancies, menstrual cycle and gynaecological surgeries. Stool samples were collected, DNA was isolated and metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiome was performed. Results: The gut microbiome composition of females and males was significantly different (p=0.001), with females showing greater alpha (within individual) diversity (p=0.033). Nine female-specific factors were associated with a significant change (false discovery rate <0.1) in the inter-individual variation of microbial composition, contributing to 1.7% of the total variation of female gut microbial composition. Univariate analysis of these factors demonstrated associations of oral contraceptive use and ovariectomy with specific bacterial species and pathways. Most associations remained significant after correcting for the effect of intrinsic factors, diet, medications, disease and smoking. Conclusion: Female-specific factors have an effect on microbiome composition and can explain a proportion of the variation in gut microbiome composition. Female-specific factors are also significantly associated with bacterial species and pathways. Functional studies are required to understand the biological mechanisms of these pathways. Furthermore, it is necessary to replicate these findings in an independent cohort.

Item Type:	Thesis (Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Supervisor: and Zhernakova, Dr. A.P and Department of Genetics and University Medical Centre Groningen
Faculty:	Medical Sciences
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2020 10:47
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2020 10:47
URI:	https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/799

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