Research Paper Volume 13, Issue 8 pp 10934—10954
Alterations in fecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and branched short-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and metabolic syndrome (MetS)
- 1 Department of Histology and Development Biology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 71-210, Poland
- 2 Department of General Pharmacology and Pharmacoeconomics, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 71-210, Poland
- 3 Department of General and Gastroentereological Surgery, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 71-252, Poland
- 4 Department of Medical Rehabilitation and Clinical Physiotherapy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 71-210, Poland
- 5 Department of Urology and Urological Oncology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 70-111, Poland
- 6 Department of Obstetrics and Pathology of Pregnancy, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin 71-210, Poland
Received: December 29, 2020 Accepted: April 2, 2021 Published: April 13, 2021
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202968How to Cite
Copyright: © 2021 Ratajczak et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Gut microbiome-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) emerge in the process of fermentation of polysaccharides that resist digestion (dietary fiber, resistant starch). SCFAs have a very high immunomodulatory potential and ensure local homeostasis of the intestinal epithelium, which helps maintain the intestinal barrier. We analyzed the association between stool SCFAs levels acetic acid (C 2:0), propionic acid (C 3:0), isobutyric acid (C 4:0i), butyric acid (C 4:0n), isovaleric acid (C 5:0i) valeric acid (C 5:0n), isocaproic acid (C 6:0i), and caproic acid (C 6:0n)) in aging man with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and healthy controls. The study involved 183 men (with BPH, n = 103; healthy controls, n = 80). We assessed the content of SCFAs in the stool samples of the study participants using gas chromatography. The levels of branched SCFAs (branched-chain fatty acids, BCFAs): isobutyric acid (C4:0i) (p = 0.008) and isovaleric acid (C5:0i) (p < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with BPH than in the control group. In healthy participants isocaproic acid (C6:0i) predominated (p = 0.038). We also analyzed the relationship between stool SCFA levels and serum diagnostic parameters for MetS. We noticed a relationship between C3:0 and serum lipid parameters (mainly triglycerides) in both healthy individuals and patients with BPH with regard to MetS. Moreover we noticed relationship between C4:0i, C5:0i and C6:0i and MetS in both groups. Our research results suggest that metabolites of the intestinal microflora (SCFAs) may indicate the proper function of the intestines in aging men, and increased BCFAs levels are associated with the presence of BPH.