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Gut microbiome could hold key for PCOS treatment
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NEW ORLEANS — Adjustments targeting specific bacteria in the gut microbiome may be an effective strategy for treating polycystic ovary syndrome, according to findings presented at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting.
According to Varykina Thackray, PhD, associate professor of reproductive medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who presented the findings during a press conference, changes in the gut microbiome have previously been linked to the development of PCOS, with women with PCOS having a microbiome with less diversity and a lower presence of such bacterial families as Bacteroidaceae and Clostridiaceae compared with women without the condition.
To test a potential link between changes in the gut microbiome and PCOS, Thackray and colleagues conducted a cohousing study using a letrozole-induced PCOS mouse model. Letrozole blocks aromatase, increases testosterone, lowers estradiol and leads to polycystic ovaries, which are common in PCOS, according to Thackray.
In the model, three groups of pubertal female mice (aged 4 weeks) were established and housed with two mice per cage. In the first group, only mice receiving placebo were housed together; in the second group, only mice receiving 3 mg letrozole were housed together; and in the third group, mice receiving placebo and mice receiving the letrozole regimen were housed together. Thackray said exposure to small amounts of feces from the healthy microbiome of the placebo mouse during cohousing could alter the gut microbiome of the letrozole mouse and improve signs of PCOS.
The researchers found that the mice treated with letrozole gained more weight and had increased insulin resistance compared with mice given placebo, but that cohousing mitigated these developments. Testosterone and luteinizing hormone levels rose for letrozole-treated mice housed together, whereas the cohoused mice had normal testosterone and LH levels and experienced normal estrous cycling and ovulation.
Thackray and colleagues also observed a shift toward similar gut microbiomes in the cohoused mice, which she said indicated that “there is an exchange of microbes between these two groups.” Additional analysis revealed that the bacteria Coprobacillus changed when comparing letrozole-treated mice housed together and letrozole-treated mice in the cohousing group, indicating that this specific bacteria “potentially could be a probiotic that we can test as a potential treatment for protecting or preventing the development of PCOS,” Thackray said during a press conference.
“This cohousing approach suggests that the changes that we see in the microbiome are not just a result of PCOS, but it may actually play a causal role,” Thackray said. “Fundamentally, this is suggesting that modulation of the gut microbiome could be a potential therapy for PCOS. We’d like to follow this up with our mouse model, with the eventual goal of developing new therapeutics for women with PCOS.” – by Phil Neuffer
Reference:
Thackray V, et al. MON-204. Gut bacterial composition correlates with an improved PCOS phenotype after cohousing. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting; March 23-26, 2019; New Orleans.
Disclosure: Thackray reports no relevant financial disclosures.