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Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Author Spotlight: In Vivo Assessment of Thyroid Hormone Disruption Using the THAI Mouse Model
Published on: October 6, 2023
Microbiome impact on metabolism and function of sex, thyroid, growth and parathyroid hormones
Michał Kunc1, Anna Gabrych1, Jacek M Witkowski2
1Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland.
Abstract:
Commensal bacteria and their genes associated with host are known as microbiome. In recent years, microbial influence on host endocrine system has been under detailed investigation. The role of microbiome in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and obesity, the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and secretion of hormones regulating appetite is well described in world literature. In this article we discuss poorly reviewed issues: the microbiome role in modulation of non-peptide (sex and thyroid) and peptide (growth hormone and parathyroid hormone) functions. Understanding complex bidirectional relations between host endocrine system and bacteria is of fundamental importance to understanding microbial impact on host reproduction, risk of endocrine-related cancers, pathogenesis of non-thyroidal illness syndrome, growth failure in children and hormonal changes during chronic kidney disease. This article also highlights effects of dietary compounds on microbiome composition and bacterial enzymes activity, and thus host hormonal status.
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