183-LB: The Gut Microbiome and Puberty in Girls at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes (T2D)

Abstract

Objectives: Pediatric-onset T2D is twice as common in girls vs. boys and is tightly linked with puberty and obesity. Alterations in gut microbiota, specifically the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio (F:B), may be associated with insulin sensitivity (Si) and may play a role in the pathophysiology of T2D. We aimed to evaluate associations between gut microbiome composition and Si and insulin secretion in obese prepubertal (PP) vs. late-pubertal (LP) girls. Methods: Obese PP (N=9, age 8.5 ±0.8 year, BMIz 2.0±0.5) and LP (Tanner 4-5, N=9, age 13.0±2.0 year, BMIz 2.0±0.5) obese girls underwent stool collection and intravenous glucose tolerance testing after an overnight fast. High-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 region was used to profile fecal bacterial communities. Bergman's minimal model was used to estimate Si and insulin secretion (acute insulin response to glucose, AIRg) and disposition index (DI). T-tests assessed group differences in Si, AIRg and DI. Spearman’s correlation examined relationships between microbiota relative abundance (%RA) and Si, AIRg and DI. Results: PP vs. LP girls had significantly higher Si (8.0±1.0 vs. 2.0±0.5 x10-4/min-1/μIU/ml, p<0.001) and DI (3,525 ± 636 vs. 1,687 ± 385 x10-4/min-1, p=0.03). AIRg was not different between PP and LP girls (568 ± 132 vs. 840 ± 174 μIU/ml, p=0.23). F:B ratio related to insulin secretion and DI, (r=-0.32, p=0.20; r=-0.39, p=0.11) but not Si. At the genus level, Si was correlated to Ruminococus and Lachnospira %RA (r=0.53, p=0.02; r=0.50, p=0.036). AIRg was correlated to Peptostreptococcaceae %RA (r=-0.48, p=0.045). DI was correlated with Prevotella and Bifidobacterium %RA (r=0.57, p=0.01; R=- 0.54, p=0.02). Conclusion: These pilot study results suggest possible relationships among the gut microbiome, glucose metabolism, and puberty in girls at risk for T2D that merit further exploration. Disclosure B. Jobira: None. D.N. Frank: None. L. Pyle: None. S. Gross: None. D. Ir: None. W. Pendleton: None. C.E. Robertson: None. K.J. Nadeau: None. M.M. Kelsey: None. Funding University of Colorado Center for Women’s Health; National Institutes of Health/Colorado Clinical Translational Science Award (UL1TR002535)

Sex, puberty, and the gut microbiome

“…In addition, diseases which emerge during and after puberty have been linked to changes in gut microbial composition, often in a sex-specific manner. These include inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Ferguson & Sedgwick 1994, Franzosa et al 2019, type I diabetes (T1D) (Markle et al 2013, Yurkovetskiy et al 2013, lupus (Young et al 2014, He et al 2016, obesity (Joriba et al 2019), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (Torres et al 2018, van Hooff et al 1999, Jobira et al 2020, and endometriosis (Yuan et al 2018, Svensson et al 2021. In addition to playing a role in the etiology and pathophysiology of various diseases, emerging differences in gut microbiota during puberty may lead to variable responses to drug treatments.…”