The identification of a bacterium related to the retroconversion of sex steroids might lead to treatments for hormonal problems such as baldness and menopause, a team of researchers said yesterday.
Steroids turn androgens into sex hormones such as estrogens, a process that was once thought to be irreversible, but apparently can be turned back by specific anaerobes, Academia Sinica Biodiversity Research Center deputy director Chiang Yin-ru (江殷儒) told a news conference in Taipei.
The team has found an anaerobic bacterial strain — Denitratisoma sp. strain DHT3 — that can reverse the process, turning estrogen back into androgen via a process mediated by vitamin B12, or cobalamin, he said, adding that the strain was found in silt at a sewage treatment plant in Taipei.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
Through genome sequencing and protein experiments, the team found that the retroconversion of estrogen into androgen is related to bacteria containing a specific enzyme (methyltransferase) with a gene named emtA, whose operation and expression involve vitamin B12 and estrogen, he said.
As emtA also exists in the anaerobic environment of the human gut, the retroconversion of estrogen might also happen in humans, he added.
Studies have suggested — without knowing the bacterial players or mechanism involved — that gut microbiota could affect a host’s sex steroid profile, he said, adding that the team’s study sheds new light on the subject.
Specific hormones regulate the development and maintenance of male and female characteristics, and the team’s research signals potential new treatments for menopause, baldness and prostate cancers through probiotics, Chiang said.
The team is attempting to isolate and characterize the hormone-
transforming anaerobes to develop such probiotics, Chiang said, adding that he is collaborating with Chang Gung Memorial Hospital on experiments.
The team’s study, “Retroconversion of estrogens into androgens by bacteria via a cobalamin-mediated methylation,” was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Jan. 21.
The lead author, Wang Po-hsiang (王柏翔), worked with Chiang at the research center and is now working at Japan’s Tokyo Institute of Technology.
National Taiwan University fisheries science professor Lee Tzong-huei (李宗徽) also contributed to the study.
The journal published a commentary on the team’s article, titled “Anaerobic bacteria need their vitamin B12 to digest estrogen,” a week later.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS