Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Publication Date

6-15-2022

Journal

Neurobiology of Disease

Abstract

Historically, females have been underrepresented in biological research. With increased interest in the gut microbiome and the gut-brain axis, it is important for researchers to pursue studies that consider sex as a biological variable. The composition of the gut microbiome is influenced by environmental factors, disease, diet, and varies with age and by sex. Detrimental changes in the gut microbiome, referred to as dysbiosis, is believed to influence the development and progression of age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and stroke. Many are investigating the changes in microbial populations in order or to better understand the role of the gut immunity and the microbiome in neurodegenerative diseases, many of which the exact etiology remains elusive, and no cures exist. Others are working to find diagnostic markers for earlier detection, or to therapeutically modulate microbial populations using probiotics. However, while all these diseases present in reproductively senescent females, most studies only use male animals for their experimental design. Reproductively senescent females have been shown to have differences in disease progression, inflammatory responses, and microbiota composition, therefore, for research to be translational to affected populations it is necessary for appropriate models to be used. This review discusses factors that influence the gut microbiome and the gut brain axis in females, and highlights studies that have investigated the role of dysbiosis in age-related neurodegenerative disorders that have included females in their study design.

Keywords

Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Brain, Dysbiosis, Female, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Huntington Disease, Male, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Gut-brain axis, Dysbiosis, Microbiome, Sex differences, Neurodegenerative, Age, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Stroke

DOI

10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105695

PMID

35307514

PMCID

PMC9631958

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

11-3-2022

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

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