Biology turns out to be far more complex than we ever thought. An investigation on mice found that during disease, the sex of an organ changes.

The human body is full of surprises. A new study found that the male liver can change into a female one when it gets sick. This may be a physiological response to protect itself.

This incredible discovery was made in a new study published in the journal PNAS, which employed a mouse model to investigate the effects of shutting off genes involved with the biological clock to observe how the body reacts to dietary changes.

This amazing fact came as a surprise because the researchers were trying to figure out why sleep disruption is linked to metabolic and liver illnesses, and it was only through their investigations that the startling sex change became apparent.

“When mice were fed a high-fat diet after their biological clocks were shut off, we expected them to develop diabetes or non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) like the mice in the control group, but they didn’t,” study editor Dr. Frederic Gachon of the University of Queensland’s Institute of Molecular Bioscience said.

He further added that “We also found that the livers of obese male mice became female, probably due to the protective nature of the female sex hormone estrogen.”

The liver, like our reproductive organs, has sexual dimorphism, which means that male and female livers have different properties. This includes significant variances in their gene profiles, with over 1000 genes in the liver that are gender specific.

There are some other fascinating facts regarding the liver. After the skin system and before the brain, it is the second heaviest organ in the human body. It is the largest gland and weighs approximately 1500 grams. It also has a reddish-brown tint due to the high amount of blood it contains; 1.4 liters of blood pass through it every minute.

The team investigated human samples to determine if the metamorphosis of the liver into a “female” seen in mice could be replicated in humans.

Indeed, human liver tissue demonstrated not only that “feminization,” as researchers dubbed it, was associated with liver illness, but also that it developed as the disease progressed.

“It seems that disrupting the rhythm of the biological clock may protect the liver by changing hormone levels such as growth hormone, estrogen, and testosterone,” Gachon added.

The study authors believe that by combining rodent and human findings, the biological clock can play a role in delaying the progression of the disease by regulating metabolic pathways.

“In light of these findings, we’re investigating if behavioral and hormonal interventions might be possible treatments for liver disease,” concluded Gachon.

Image Credit: Getty

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