Hormonal Effects on Gut Microbiota Dynamics
Summary
The gut harbours a dense and diverse microbial community that both responds to and shapes the host’s hormonal milieu. Sex steroids such as oestrogens, androgens and progesterone exert selective pressures on bacterial taxa, altering community composition, metabolic output and barrier integrity. Conversely, gut microbes participate in hormone metabolism through enzymatic deconjugation and transformation, influencing systemic levels via enterohepatic circulation. Glucocorticoids, insulin and other endocrine signals likewise modulate microbial growth and gene expression, with downstream effects on immune regulation, nutrient absorption and inflammation. Dysregulation of these bidirectional interactions has been implicated in conditions ranging from metabolic syndrome and polycystic ovary syndrome to osteoporosis and certain hormone‐driven cancers. Emerging multi-omics approaches are clarifying the ecological and molecular mechanisms by which host hormones and gut microbes co-ordinate health and disease across the lifespan.
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Hormonal Effects on Gut Microbiota Dynamics publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in hormonal effects on gut microbiota dynamics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
β-glucuronidase: Gut microbial enzyme that cleaves glucuronic acid from conjugated compounds, enabling reactivation of hormones.
Glucuronidation: Liver-mediated process in which glucuronic acid is attached to substances to increase solubility and promote biliary excretion.
Enterohepatic circulation: Recycling pathway in which bile-derived conjugates are deconjugated by gut microbes and subsequently reabsorbed into the bloodstream.
Estrobolome: The aggregate of gut microbial genes and enzymes involved in the metabolism and deconjugation of oestrogens.
References
- The impact of the gut microbiota on the reproductive and metabolic endocrine system. Gut Microbes (2021).
- The gut microbiota is a major regulator of androgen metabolism in intestinal contents. AJP Endocrinology and Metabolism (2019).
- Gut microbial β-glucuronidases reactivate estrogens as components of the estrobolome that reactivate estrogens. Journal of Biological Chemistry (2019).
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