The Effects of Acetic Acid Supplement and Voluntary Wheel Running on Gut Microbiome in Ovariectomized Mice

PURPOSE: A correlation exists between a healthy physiological state and the diversity of the gut microbiome. Menopause-induced deterioration of whole-body metabolism negatively contributes to microbial diversity. The combined effect of acetic acid supplementation and exercise on the gut microbiome remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate 1) whether menopause negatively influences gut microbial diversity, including Firmicutes abundance, and 2) whether the combined treatment of acetic acid supplementation and exercise rescues microbial dysbiosis, and which specific bacteria are related to this rescue effect.METHODS: The 15-week study used 8-week-old female C57BL/6J wild-type mice (n=40), which were randomly assigned to sham (SHM), ovariectomy (OVX), ovariectomy with exercise (OVXE), ovariectomy with acetic acid (OVXA), or ovariectomy with exercise and acetic acid (OVXAE) groups. Gut microbial diversity and abundance were assessed using next-generation sequencing (NGS).RESULTS: Firmicutes were more abundant in the OVX group than in the SHM group. However, OVXA partially protected against the OVX-induced increase in Firmicutes (SHM, 50.6%; OVX, 57.2%; OVXE, 52.0%; OVXA, 50.6%; and OVXAE, 56.5%). In terms of microbial diversity, the acetic acid-supplemented groups (OVXA and OVXAE) showed greater microbial diversity than the SHM and OVX groups (<i>p</i><.05). The phylogenetic cladogram analysis showed that the OVXA and OVXAE groups had lower levels of UCG009 and Akkermansia (<i>p</i><.05) than the OVX group.CONCLUSIONS: Ovariectomy increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes. Acetic acid supplementation partially attenuated the increased proportion of Firmicutes in ovariectomized mice. Notably, this study found that acetic acid supplementation showed a significant beneficial effect on microbial diversity in ovariectomized mice, independent of exercise intervention. Future research should explore the potential role of UCG009 in protecting against menopause-related metabolic dysfunction.