Fecal transplant from old mice increases fertility in young mice
Researchers say these results are preliminary, but they could eventually improve ovarian health and fertility in women.
Elisa Eckert/Science Photo Library via Getty Images
Fecal transplants from old female mice appear to increase fertility and ovarian health in young mice. The findings are detailed in A study published on Tuesday in the journal nature agingThere is a direct link between gut health and reproductive health in animals. They may also have implications for future research into how the microbiome affects ovarian function and fertility in humans.
The results were surprising, says Berenice Benayoun, a biologist and research leader at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. “We went into the study expecting that the older stool microbiome would cause younger ovaries to age prematurely,” she says. “So we were very intrigued to see the opposite being true, suggesting that some very interesting biology was occurring.”
Scientists already know that the microbiome – a collection of bacteria, organisms and viruses that live both on and inside the body – plays a role in myriad aspects of health, including reproduction and fertility.
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Fecal transplantation promises to replace “bad” bacteria in the diseased intestine with “healthy” bacteria through the donor’s stool. In humans, the benefits of the procedure are still under investigation, but it is used in some cases to treat certain conditions, such as bacterial infections. It may also be useful for treating gastrointestinal and other metabolic problems, and even neurobiological conditions — but the science is preliminary.
All of the aged female mice included in the study were in a stage of life called “estropause,” which is similar to menopause in humans, and all had stopped ovulating. When young mice received fecal transplants from these older animals, genetic markers in their ovarian cells appeared rejuvenated and they were more successful at reproducing.
Benayoun says this effect may be the result of compensation. In mice there is a communication pathway between a group of gut microbes called the astrobolome and the ovary. But as mice age, this highway begins to break down, she says. Young mice that receive chronic fecal transplants may promote signals between this subset of gut microbes and the ovary to compensate for the offending pathway, strengthening their reproductive health.
Studies show that ovarian function is “plastic,” says Benayoun. Importantly, the findings in rats cannot be directly applied to humans. Researchers will need to investigate whether the human gut microbiome contains specific organisms that communicate with the ovaries, she says, as is the case in mice. Still, the finding suggests that the microbiome may be an entry point for changes in ovarian function, she adds.
“You can imagine that once such bacteria are identified,” she says, “it would be quite easy to design ovarian-supportive probiotics.”
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