Gut Bacteria Use Hydrogen Gas to Make Pregnancy Hormones from Stress Hormones
- Authors
- Megan D. McCurry, Gabriel D. D'Agostino, Jasmine T. Walsh, Jordan E. Bisanz, Ines Zalosnik, Xueyang Dong, David J. Morris, Joshua R. Korzenik, Andrea G. Edlow, Emily P. Balskus, Turnbaugh Peter J., Jun R. Huh, A. Sloan Devlin
- Journal
- Cell
- Year
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cell.2024.05.005
- Study Type
- Cell Culture
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- United States
- Health Condition
- Postpartum Depression
- Body System
- Digestive
TL;DR
Certain gut bacteria can turn steroids produced by our body into hormones that can influence our immune system, metabolism, and even brain function, which may have important effects during pregnancy.
Key Finding
Gut bacteria convert glucocorticoids into progestins—including a compound used to treat postpartum depression—through a hydrogen gas-dependent process, with levels substantially elevated in pregnant women.
Summary
Researchers discovered that two types of gut bacteria can convert glucocorticoids (stress-related hormones produced by the body) into progestins (sex hormones and brain-active compounds) when hydrogen gas is present. This conversion process was higher in pregnant women's samples. The findings suggest that hydrogen gas produced by gut bacteria may influence how these bacteria transform hormones, which could affect pregnancy-related conditions like postpartum depression.
Practical Takeaway
This cell culture study provides early evidence that hydrogen gas may play a role in how gut bacteria transform hormones, which could theoretically affect pregnancy and women's health. However, this is laboratory research without human trials, so it's unclear whether hydrogen water or other hydrogen sources would produce similar effects in the body. More research in humans would be needed to determine any practical health implications.
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that human-associated bacteria interact with host-produced steroids, but the mechanisms and physiological impact of such interactions remain unclear. Here, we show that the human gut bacteria Gordonibacter pamelaeae and Eggerthella lenta convert abundant biliary corticoids into progestins through 21-dehydroxylation, thereby transforming a class of immuno- and metabo-regulatory steroids into a class of sex hormones and neurosteroids. Using comparative genomics, homologous expression, and heterologous expression, we identify a bacterial gene cluster that performs 21-dehydroxylation. We also uncover an unexpected role for hydrogen gas production by gut commensals in promoting 21-dehydroxylation, suggesting that hydrogen modulates secondary metabolism in the gut. Levels of certain bacterial progestins, including allopregnanolone, better known as brexanolone, an FDA-approved drug for postpartum depression, are substantially increased in feces from pregnant humans. Thus, bacterial conversion of corticoids into progestins may affect host physiology, particularly in the context of pregnancy and women's health.