The gut microbiome is associated with bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women

Lin Chen; Shuai Yan; Ming Yang; Fudong Yu; Jingjing Wang; Xiaoxin Wang; Huanbai Xu; Jianxia Shi; Ling Pan; Yuexi Zeng; Siyu Li; Li Li; Li You; Yongde Peng

The gut microbiome is associated with bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women

Am J Transl Res. 2021 Nov 15;13(11):12601-12613. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Lin Chen¹, Shuai Yan¹, Ming Yang¹, Fudong Yu², Jingjing Wang³, Xiaoxin Wang³, Huanbai Xu¹, Jianxia Shi¹, Ling Pan¹, Yuexi Zeng¹, Siyu Li¹, Li Li¹, Li You¹, Yongde Peng¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200080, China.
² Basic Reproduction Laboratory, Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, Fudan University Shanghai 200032, China.
³ Shanghai Key Laboratory for Pancreatic Diseases, Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Shanghai 200080, China.

PMID: 34956476
PMCID: PMC8661154

Abstract

Objective: The association of the gut microbiome with bone turnover markers (BTMs) in postmenopausal women is poorly understood.

Methods: Fecal samples were collected from 97 Chinese postmenopausal women, and the serum CTX and P1NP were determined. Individuals with serum CTX lower or higher than the median value were divided into LCTX and P1NP groups; and individuals with serum P1NP lower or higher than the median value were grouped into LP1NP and HP1NP groups. Microbiota profiles were determined by high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Results: In postmenopausal women, only Faecalibacterium showed significant alteration in the HCTX group compared with the LCTX group (P=0.004, q=0.143). Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis revealed that Clostridiaceae (P=0.015, LDA=2.89), Faecalibacterium (P=0.017, LDA=4.60), Prevotella (P=0.040, LDA=3.61) and Clostridium (P=0.007, LDA=2.79) were abundant in the LCTX group, and Facklamia (P=0.044, LDA=3.10) was enriched in the HCTX group. Peptostreptococcaceae (P=0.048, LDA=2.83) and the SMB53 (P=0.028, LDA=2.05) genus were enriched in the LPINP group, and Veillonellaceae (P=0.025, LDA=4.43) and the S24_7 (P=0.023, LDA=3.08) family were enriched in the HPINP group. Six taxa correlated with BTMs in all subjects, including Clostridium (Clostridiaceae) that was negatively correlated with serum CTX amounts significantly (r=-0.34, P<0.001).

Conclusion: This study identified taxa-specific differences in the intestinal microflora associated with BTMs, notably CTX. These findings may help in uncovering the roles of gut microbiota on bone metabolism.

Keywords: 16S ribosomal RNA; Gut microbiota; bone turnover marker; postmenopausal women.