Fig. 4

Antibiotic treatment alleviates sexual dimorphism in MS. 10-week-old male (n = 5) and female (n = 5) mice maintained on chow diet were switched to a WD until the age of 20 weeks to induce sexual dimorphism in MS. Then, a broad-spectrum antibiotic cocktail (ABX) containing ampicillin (1 g/L), vancomycin (500 mg/L), neomycin sulfate (1 g/L) (added to drinking water), and metronidazole (100 mg/kg) (orally gavaged every 12 h) was administered for next 6 weeks to deplete the gut microbiota. a–d Sexual dimorphism in markers of metabolic endotoxemia (serum LPS, LBP, sCD14, and intestinal permeability). e–h Markers of low-grade chronic inflammation (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, MCP-1, and IL-10). i–n Features of metabolic syndrome (body weight, glucose tolerance test, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), serum triglycerides and HDL-C). Data (M vs. F and Before Abx vs. After Abx) were analyzed at the baseline (after 20 weeks of WD feeding) and after ABX treatment. Data was shown as mean ± SEM. Data with different superscript letters are significantly different (P < 0.05). Ordinary or repeated measures two-way ANOVA followed by Sidak’s multiple comparisons test