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Wu Z, Pfeiffer RM, Byrd DA, Wan Y, Ansong D, Clegg-Lamptey JN, Wiafe-Addai B, Edusei L, Adjei E, Titiloye N, Dedey F, Aitpillah F, Oppong J, Vanderpuye V, Osei-Bonsu E, Dagnall CL, Jones K, Hutchinson A, Hicks BD, Ahearn TU, Knight R, Biritwum R, Yarney J, Wiafe S, Awuah B, Nyarko K, Garcia-Closas M, Sinha R, Figueroa JD, Brinton LA, Trabert B, Vogtmann E. Associations of Circulating Estrogens and Estrogen Metabolites with Fecal and Oral Microbiome in Postmenopausal Women in the Ghana Breast Health Study. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0157223. [PMID: 37341612 PMCID: PMC10433996 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01572-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The human fecal and oral microbiome may play a role in the etiology of breast cancer through modulation of endogenous estrogen metabolism. This study aimed to investigate associations of circulating estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal and oral microbiome in postmenopausal African women. A total of 117 women with fecal (N = 110) and oral (N = 114) microbiome data measured by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and estrogens and estrogen metabolites data measured by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were included. The outcomes were measures of the microbiome and the independent variables were the estrogens and estrogen metabolites. Estrogens and estrogen metabolites were associated with the fecal microbial Shannon index (global P < 0.01). In particular, higher levels of estrone (β = 0.36, P = 0.03), 2-hydroxyestradiol (β = 0.30, P = 0.02), 4-methoxyestrone (β = 0.51, P = 0.01), and estriol (β = 0.36, P = 0.04) were associated with higher levels of the Shannon index, while 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (β = -0.57, P < 0.01) was inversely associated with the Shannon index as indicated by linear regression. Conjugated 2-methoxyestrone was associated with oral microbial unweighted UniFrac as indicated by MiRKAT (P < 0.01) and PERMANOVA, where conjugated 2-methoxyestrone explained 2.67% of the oral microbial variability, but no other estrogens or estrogen metabolites were associated with any other beta diversity measures. The presence and abundance of multiple fecal and oral genera, such as fecal genera from families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, were associated with several estrogens and estrogen metabolites as indicated by zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Overall, we found several associations of specific estrogens and estrogen metabolites and the fecal and oral microbiome. IMPORTANCE Several epidemiologic studies have found associations of urinary estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal microbiome. However, urinary estrogen concentrations are not strongly correlated with serum estrogens, a known risk factor for breast cancer. To better understand whether the human fecal and oral microbiome were associated with breast cancer risk via the regulation of estrogen metabolism, we conducted this study to investigate the associations of circulating estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the fecal and oral microbiome in postmenopausal African women. We found several associations of parent estrogens and several estrogen metabolites with the microbial communities, and multiple individual associations of estrogens and estrogen metabolites with the presence and abundance of multiple fecal and oral genera, such as fecal genera from families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, which have estrogen metabolizing properties. Future large, longitudinal studies to investigate the dynamic changes of the fecal and oral microbiome and estrogen relationship are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeni Wu
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Ruth M. Pfeiffer
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Doratha A. Byrd
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, USA
| | - Yunhu Wan
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Casey L. Dagnall
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Kristine Jones
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Amy Hutchinson
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Belynda D. Hicks
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, Frederick National Lab for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland, USA
| | - Thomas U. Ahearn
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Rob Knight
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | | | | | - Seth Wiafe
- School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California, USA
| | | | | | - Montserrat Garcia-Closas
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Rashmi Sinha
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonine D. Figueroa
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Usher Institute and CRUK Edinburgh Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Louise A. Brinton
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Britton Trabert
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Utah, and Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Emily Vogtmann
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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