Gut Microbiota Disorders in Obesity-Associated Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats

Lijiang Gu; Akehu Alemasi; Yuhang Chen; Xing Li; Yibo Mei; Jinlai Zhou; Dalin He; Jin Zeng

doi:10.1007/s10528-023-10634-z

Gut Microbiota Disorders in Obesity-Associated Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia in Rats

Biochem Genet. 2024 Feb 13. doi: 10.1007/s10528-023-10634-z. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lijiang Gu^#¹, Akehu Alemasi^#², Yuhang Chen¹, Xing Li¹, Yibo Mei¹, Jinlai Zhou¹, Dalin He³, Jin Zeng⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
² Department of Nephrology, Capital Medical University, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, 100070, China.
³ Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. hedl@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. zengjin1984@126.com.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38349437
DOI: 10.1007/s10528-023-10634-z

Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), commonly seen in older men, can cause symptoms of discomfort, and may even need surgical intervention. Studies have shown the potential link between gut microbes and BPH, but the molecular association is not fully understood.

Methods: Four-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 16) were randomly allocated to normal control diet (ND, 10% fat) and high-fat diet-induced BPH (HFD, 45% fat) groups. Metagenomic analysis was used to examine the abundance and discrepancies in gut microbiota within the two groups after 24 weeks of feeding. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was conducted to assess the biological functions of the differentially expressed genes.

Results: Rats with HFD-induced obesity exhibited morphological abnormalities in their prostate tissues. Metagenomic analysis of the gut revealed that Firmicutes were the dominant phyla in the HFD group, whereas the ND group had a higher abundance of Spirochaetes. At the genus level, Ruminococcus spp exhibited greater abundance in the HFD group, whereas Treponema spp were more abundant in the ND group. KEGG analysis demonstrated that the differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the NOD-like receptor (NLR) signaling, PI3K-Akt signaling, estrogen-signaling, signalings associated with GABAergic synapses, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis.

Conclusion: The findings of our study indicated that there was a notable variation in the microbiota abundance within the intestinal tract of obese rats suffering from prostate hyperplasia. It is plausible that these differentially abundant bacteria played a role in the development of pathological alterations in the prostate through the facilitation of inflammatory responses; however, additional research is required to validate the findings.

Keywords: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; High-fat diet-induced obesity; Intestinal microbiota disturbance; Metagenomics analysis.

Abstract

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