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Biological Aging and the Human Gut Microbiota
Vincent J Maffei1, Sangkyu Kim2, Eugene Blanchard1
1Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans.
Summary
Biological age, not chronological age, impacts gut microbiota diversity in adults. Specific microbial communities are linked to biological aging and frailty, indicating gastrointestinal dysbiosis.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Gerontology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- The gut microbiota is crucial for physiological homeostasis, often disrupted by aging.
- Frailty is a common condition in older adults, impacting health and well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between biological age and gut microbiota composition in community-dwelling adults.
- To identify specific microbial signatures associated with biological aging and frailty.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of stool 16S rRNA cDNA libraries from 85 adults aged 43-79 using DADA2 for sequencing.
- Application of Sparse Inverse Covariance Estimation for Ecological Association and Statistical Inference (SPIEC-EASI) and Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA).
- Utilized Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) for metagenome prediction.
Main Results:
- Biological age, unlike chronological age, correlated with reduced gut microbial diversity.
- Specific microbial genera (Eggerthella, Ruminococcus, Coprobacillus) formed a module associated with biological age and frailty index (FI34).
- This microbial module remained significant after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, and antibiotic use.
Conclusions:
- Increasing biological age in adults is associated with gastrointestinal dysbiosis.
- Gut microbiota composition changes reflect biological aging and may contribute to frailty.
- Targeting microbial communities could offer strategies for healthy aging.
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