{
  "abstract": "Glucocorticoids (GCs) are steroid hormones predominately produced by the adrenal glands and secreted into the blood, but are also produced locally within some target tissues. During early development in mice, postnatal day (PND) 2–12, local GC levels in lymphoid organs are higher than blood GC levels. Interestingly, studies in germ-free (GF) and antibiotic-treated mice demonstrate that the intestinal microbiome modulates circulating and local GC levels, possibly through production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Importantly, GF mice lack all microbes, and antibiotic treatment is a very powerful perturbation that eliminates most intestinal microbes; the effects of more subtle microbiome manipulations on neonatal blood and local GC levels have yet to be determined. To begin to fill this gap, we established two groups of C57BL/6J mice with distinct microbiomes M1 and M2. We then bred adult mice from M1 and M2 and collected blood, bone marrow, thymus, and spleen from neonatal animals at PND5. We measured progesterone, 11-deoxycorticosterone, corticosterone, and 11-dehydrocorticosterone in the blood and lymphoid organs via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We also measured nine SCFAs in the blood to determine a possible connection between microbiome and GCs. The adult microbiomes differed in community composition, but not overall community diversity. Mice with M1 had increased corticosterone and 11-dehydrocorticosteorne levels in blood and lymphoid organs. Mice with M1 also had increased levels of six SCFAs in blood, indicating a possible connection between SCFA signaling and GC levels. These data further our understanding of intestinal microbiome modulation of GC physiology by demonstrating that even subtle differences in microbiome composition can influence systemic and local GC levels.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada",
    "Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Biology, University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada",
    "Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada",
    "Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jordan E. Hamden"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Garrett Ainsworth-Cruickshank"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Katherine M. Gray"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Jiayu Ye"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "George V. Kachkovski"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Brandon J. Forys"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Claire Sie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Jessica A. F. D. Silva"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        8
      ],
      "name": "Melody Salehzadeh"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        9
      ],
      "name": "Sanjoy Ghosh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kenneth K. Harder"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kiran K. Soma"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezhezhgkyyxbc.bib",
  "cited_by": 1,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357469",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "ezhezhgkyyxbc",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357469",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Gut microbiota and health"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Body fluids/Blood"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Lymphatic system/Lymphoid organs"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Biochemistry/Hormones/Lipid hormones/Progesterone"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Genetics/Genomics/Microbial genomics/Microbiome"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Immunology/Immune system/Bone marrow"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Medical microbiology/Microbiome"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Microbiology/Microbial genomics/Microbiome"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Organisms/Eukaryota/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Body fluids/Blood"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Physiology/Immune physiology/Bone marrow"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Zoology/Animals/Vertebrates/Amniotes/Mammals/Rodents/Mice"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Body fluids/Blood"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Lymphatic system/Lymphoid organs"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Immunology/Immune system/Bone marrow"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical compounds/Organic compounds/Steroids"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Physical sciences/Chemistry/Organic chemistry/Organic compounds/Steroids"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214112262",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0357469&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-23",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezhezhgkyyxbc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0357469",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357469"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:anatomy",
      "subfield": "physiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The parental intestinal microbiome modulates systemic and local glucocorticoid levels in neonatal mice",
  "title_text": "The parental intestinal microbiome modulates systemic and local glucocorticoid levels in neonatal mice",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:43Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ezhezhgkyyxbc",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}