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Firmicutes in Gut Microbiota Correlate with Blood Testosterone Levels in Elderly Men

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Firmicutes in Gut Microbiota Correlate with Blood Testosterone Levels in Elderly Men
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/ZJTFRM
 
Creator Kazutoshi Fujita
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description Purpose: In males, testosterone levels have been implicated in various diseases. Recently, the influence of gut microbialderived compounds on host metabolism has become evident, and it has been suggested that some gut bacteria may be involved
in testosterone metabolism. In the present study, we examined the relationship between testosterone levels and gut microbiota in elderly Japanese men.
Materials and Methods: We collected samples from Japanese male subjects suspected of having prostate cancer and underwent prostate biopsies and excluded patients with positive biopsies to avoid the effect of prostate cancer on the gut microbiota.
In total, 54 Japanese males with negative biopsy results were included in our study. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of bacterial DNA extracted from rectal swabs. Gut microbiota compositions were compared between the two groups according to the level of serum testosterone (above or below 3.5 ng /mL).
Results: The median age of the cohort was 71 years, and the quartile range was 67 to 73 years. We observed no significant difference in alpha or beta diversity, but some bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes (Clostridiales, Turicibacter, and
Gemella) were increased in the high testosterone group. Serum testosterone levels positively correlated with the relative amount of Firmicutes (rS=0.3323, p=0.0141), and the amount of Firmicutes affected serum testosterone levels independent of
host factors (age, body mass index, triglyceride, and total cholesterol; β=0.770, p=0.0396).
Conclusions: Some intestinal bacteria belonging to the phylum Firmicutes were associated with testosterone levels in elderly males. Therefore, the gut microbiota could affect testosterone metabolism in elderly males.
 
Subject Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
 
Contributor Park, Hyun Jun