Abstract
Long-term consumption of a diet with excessive fat and sucrose (Western diet, WD) leads to an elevated risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome in both males and females. However, there are sexual dimorphisms in metabolism which are apparent when considering the prevalence of complications of metabolic syndrome, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of a WD on the metabolome and the gut microbiota of male and female mice at 5, 10, and 15 months to capture the dynamic and comprehensive changes brought about by diet at different stages of life. Here we show that there are important considerations of age and sex that should be considered when assessing the impact of diet on the gut microbiome and health.
Highlights
Long-term consumption of a diet with excessive fat and sucrose (Western diet, WD) leads to an elevated risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome in both males and females
We present the impact of a diet high in saturated fat and sucrose on the metabolome and gut microbiome of male and female wild-type C57BL/6J mice at 5, 10, and 15 months of age. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics analysis was used to assess the serum and urine metabolomes, and 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing was performed on fecal and cecal samples to assess the gut microbiome
It is established that energy metabolism is different in females due to sexual dimorphism in the levels of hormones, fat distribution[9], and mitochondrial function[10]
Summary
Long-term consumption of a diet with excessive fat and sucrose (Western diet, WD) leads to an elevated risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome in both males and females. We show that there are important considerations of age and sex that should be considered when assessing the impact of diet on the gut microbiome and health. Obesity is a growing health concern worldwide It is induced by an imbalance of energy intake and expenditure and is associated with a number of complications such as type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, hypertension, and cardiovascular d isease[1]. We present the impact of a diet high in saturated fat and sucrose on the metabolome and gut microbiome of male and female wild-type C57BL/6J mice at 5, 10, and 15 months of age. We found that while there were some similarities in the response to diet, male and female mice differed with respect to their serum and urine metabolomes, as well as their fecal and cecal microbiota at all ages regardless of diet. Our results emphasize the importance of sex and age when making conclusions regarding diet and its effect on metabolism and gut microbiota
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