A new study published in the journal Cell Metabolism highlights a previously unknown link between gut bacteria, estradiol, and depression in premenopausal women. Researchers at Wuhan University in China have discovered that the microbiome environment in the gut can accelerate the breakdown of estradiol, a primary form of estrogen during reproductive years, in premenopausal women with depression. The team identified a potential gut microbe, Klebsiella aerogenes, capable of degrading estradiol into estrone with the help of an enzyme called 3β-HSD.
The study found that estradiol levels in the blood of premenopausal women with depression were around 43% lower compared to those without depression. Gut microbiota samples were collected and tested, revealing that estradiol degraded by 77.8% in the guts of women with depression and only by 19.3% in the non-depression group. The researchers introduced the microbiome from premenopausal women with depression to mice, which led to a 25% decrease in estradiol levels in the blood and depression-like behaviors in the mice.
K. aerogenes was identified as the potential gut microbe responsible for the degradation of estradiol. The researchers isolated and tested the microbe, which reduced estradiol levels in mice and induced depressive-like behaviors. Whole genome sequencing of K. aerogenes identified the presence of 3β-HSD, an enzyme capable of degrading estradiol into estrone.
The prevalence of K. aerogenes and 3β-HSD was found to be higher in the microbiomes of premenopausal women with depression compared to those without. The study suggests that targeting the estradiol-degrading bacteria and 3β-HSD enzymes could be potential intervention targets for depression in premenopausal women.
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