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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Intestinal Microbiome
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1505958

The depletion of gut microbiome impairs the beneficial effect of Gui-Shen-Wan in restoring mice ovarian function and associated protein expression of ovarian tissues

Provisionally accepted
Wenkui Dai Wenkui Dai 1*Xingtao Huang Xingtao Huang 1Ruinan Xu Ruinan Xu 1Qin Yang Qin Yang 1Xin Jiang Xin Jiang 1Jinju Lin Jinju Lin 2Huashan Zhao Huashan Zhao 2Ruifang Wu Ruifang Wu 1Hui Du Hui Du 1
  • 1 Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, China
  • 2 Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), specifically Gui-Shen-Wan, has shown promise in restoring ovarian function among reproductive-age women who had impaired ovarian functions, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Recent studies highlight the pivotal role of the gut microbiome (GM) in mediating the therapeutic effects of TCM. However, it is unclear whether the GM contributes to Gui-Shen-Wan's therapeutic restoration of ovarian functions. This study employed a mouse model with cyclophosphamide-induced decreased ovarian function (P_T and P_AT groups) and a control group without modeling. The P_AT group received a 7-day course of oral antibiotics to deplete the GM prior to a 20-day Gui-Shen-Wan treatment regimen. Both P_T and P_AT mice exhibited prolonged metestrus/diestrus phases compared to controls (p<0.05), indicating menstrual disruption post-modeling. Following 20 days of Gui-Shen-Wan treatment, P_T mice showed a shorter metestrus/diestrus phase (4 days) compared to P_AT mice (5 days) (p<0.05).Notably, P_T mice had a higher number of normal follicles(primitive/primary/secondary/antral follicles) in their ovaries post-treatment (median 15) compared to P_AT mice (median 8.5).Proteome analysis revealed that ovarian proteins enriched in P_T mice were primarily associated with oxidative phosphorylation and DNA replication pathways, suggesting GM-mediated enhancement of these processes. This study underscores the pivotal role of the GM in the therapeutic benefits of Gui-Shen-Wan, highlighting the potential for microbiome-targeted interventions in promoting beneficial effects of Gui-Shen-Wan on the restoration of decreased ovarian functions.

    Keywords: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gui-Shen-Wan, gut microbiome, Ovarian dysfunction, ovarian proteome

    Received: 04 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dai, Huang, Xu, Yang, Jiang, Lin, Zhao, Wu and Du. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wenkui Dai, Shenzhen Hospital, Peking University, Shenzhen, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.