Associations between gut microbiota and three prostate diseases: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

According to previous observational researches and clinical trials, the gut microbiota is related to prostate diseases. However, the potential association between gut microbiota and prostate disorders is still uncertain. We first identified groups of gut microbiota based on the phylum, class, order, family, and genus levels from consortium MiBioGen. And we acquired prostate diseases statistics from the FINNGEN study and PRACTICAL consortium. Next, two-sample Mendelian randomization was used to investigate the potential associations between three prevalent prostate disease and gut microbiota. In addition, we performed a reverse MR analysis and Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) test for further research. We investigated the connection between 196 gut microbiota and three prevalent prostate diseases. We identified 42 nominally significant associations and 2 robust causative links. Upon correction for multiple comparisons using the Benjamini–Hochberg procedure, our analysis revealed a positive correlation between the risk of prostatitis and the presence of the taxonomic order Gastranaerophilales. Conversely, the risk of prostate cancer exhibited an inverse correlation with the presence of the taxonomic class Alphaproteobacteria. Our study revealed the potential association between gut microbiota and prostate diseases. The results may be useful in providing new insights for further mechanistic and clinical studies of prostate diseases.

Genetic insights into gut microbiota and risk of prostatitis: a Mendelian randomization study

“…The metabolites and bioactive factors produced by GM may also act as exacerbators or suppressors of deleterious changes triggered by the local microbiome, thereby exerting an impact on prostatitis. For instance, Sutterella has been identified as a driving factor in the progression of diabetes, which, due to its weakening effect on immune function, may serve as a promoter of inflammation initiated by local pathogens in the prostate (Liu and Dong, 2024).…”