CANBERRA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have identified the cellular mechanism behind why women experience more severe chronic gut pain than men, linking the sex differences to estrogen.
Researchers in Australia and the United States reported in the journal Science that estrogen is the main culprit, a statement of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) said Friday.
"We found that estrogen directly amplifies communication between two specialized gut cell types, triggering heightened sensitivity to pain signals in females," said SAHMRI Professor Stuart Brierley, conducting the study in collaboration with scientists from the University of California, San Francisco.
Estrogen activates a colon pathway that boosts release of the gut hormone PYY, which in turn stimulates serotonin output and sensitizes pain-transmitting nerves, said Brierley, also from Australia's University of Adelaide.
"If we can interrupt this pathway at the right point, we may be able to reduce chronic gut pain without affecting the normal digestive functions of these hormones," he said.
The discovery is a major step toward developing more personalized treatments for chronic gut pain conditions like irritable bowel syndrome and other debilitating visceral pain disorders, such as endometriosis, the statement said.
The study also showed estrogen enhances the gut's response to short-chain fatty acids produced when bacteria break down food, clarifying why dietary interventions like low FODMAP diets can reduce symptoms in some people.
"We now understand that certain foods can feed into this estrogen-sensitive pathway through the metabolites they produce," Brierley said, adding this provides a clearer biological rationale for why dietary changes may help and how they could be refined. ■
