{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T03:40:52Z","timestamp":1791776452260,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1758499200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:p><jats:italic>Bacteroides acidifaciens<\/jats:italic> (BA), a common gut commensal, is known to modulate immune responses, but its role in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and potential sex-specific effects remain poorly understood. To investigate this, male and female mice were colonized with BA prior to induction of ARDS using dual doses of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), a potent superantigen that triggers cytokine storm\u2013driven lung injury. Clinical parameters, histopathology, gene expression, ELISA, flow cytometry, and gut barrier assessments were used to evaluate outcomes. BA pre-treatment significantly improved lung function, and attenuated pulmonary inflammation in male mice, correlating with increased IL-22, expansion of \u03b3\u03b4 T cells, and upregulation of colonic tight junction proteins. In contrast, BA exacerbated ARDS symptoms in females, increasing Th17 responses, neutrophil infiltration, and IgA-associated immune activation while impairing gut barrier integrity. These findings reveal that BA exerts divergent, sex-dependent effects in ARDS, highlighting the critical need to consider sex as a biological variable in microbiome-based therapies targeting inflammatory lung disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1653309","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,22]],"date-time":"2025-09-22T05:28:51Z","timestamp":1758518931000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Sex-dependent modulation of acute respiratory distress syndrome by Bacteroides acidifaciens: gut microbiome impact on lung 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