At a glance:
- Study shows two related kinds of gut bacteria can modify steroids differently from how human cells do and demonstrates that gas affects which ones gut bacteria produce.
- Work suggests gut microbiota can act like an endocrine organ, producing hormones that affect human health.
- Findings provide new evidence that doctors could one day treat certain mental health conditions by manipulating the gut microbiome.
It turns out flatulence can serve a purpose beyond being uncomfortable or funny: Gas released by some gut bacteria stimulates other gut bacteria to produce a hormone involved in pregnancy and in an FDA-approved treatment for postpartum depression, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School scientists.
The work shows how gut bacteria can produce new hormones from steroids in bile and, in doing so, act like an endocrine organ. This research adds to the growing list of ways gut microbiota may influence human biology and health. The study also provides new evidence that doctors could one day treat or prevent certain kinds of mental health conditions by manipulating the gut microbiome.
The findings are published May 24 in Cell.
“While it’s common knowledge that gut health is important to our overall well-being, exactly how bacteria that reside in our GI tract interact with one another and with our own cells to impact our mental health is still being uncovered,” said first author Megan McCurry, who conducted the work as a graduate student and postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Sloan Devlin in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. “This work reveals how certain gut bacteria perform a chemical transformation that produces a steroid that could impact women’s health and postpartum depression.”