Microbial composition, functionality, and stress resilience or susceptibility: unraveling sex-specific patterns

ConclusionThis study highlights distinct pre- and post-trauma differences in microbial composition, functionality, and metabolites, associated with stress resilience in male and female rats. The findings underscore the importance of developing sex-specific therapeutic strategies to effectively address stress-related disorders.HighlightsSPS model induces divergent anxiety and social behavioral responses to traumatic stress in both male and female rodents.SPS-resilient females displayed less anxiety-like behavior and initiated more interactions towards a juvenile rat than SPS-resilient males.Sex-specific pre-existing and SPS-induced differences in the gut microbial composition and predictive functionality were observed in susceptible and resilient rats.SPS-resilient males displayed elevated cecal acetate levels, whereas SPS-susceptible females exhibited heightened branched-chain SCFAs.
Source: Biology of Sex Differences - Category: Biology Source Type: research