Reduction of Premature Aging Markers After Gastric Bypass Surgery in Morbidly Obese Patients

Obesity is considered to be a major comorbidity. Obese patients suffer from an increased proinflammatory state associated with a premature aging phenotype including increased secretion of senescence-associated secretory proteins (SASP) and reduced telomere length. Micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) are non-coding RNA molecules that could modify the post-transcriptional process. Several studies have reported associations between miRNAs and metabolic unhealthy conditions.

To determine if bariatric surgery and the resulting weight loss could reverse the premature aging phenotype.

We enrolled 58 morbidly obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery. Markers of premature aging including the SASP IL-6, CRP and PAI-1, 7 miRNAs, as well as telomere length and telomere oxidation in mononuclear cells were evaluated.

Patients showed a significant drop of body mass index (BMI; 43.98 ± 3.5 versus 28.02 ± 4.1, p < 0.001). We observed a significant reduction in SASP including a reduction of 55% of plasma IL-6 levels (p = 0 < 0.001), 83% of CRP levels (p = 0.001) and 15% of plasma PAI-1 levels (p < 0.001). Telomere length doubled in the patient cohort (p < 0.001) and was accompanied by a reduction in the telomere oxidation index by 70% (p < 0.001). Telomere length was inversely correlated with telomere oxidation. The aging-associated miRNA miR10a_5p was upregulated significantly (p = 0.039), while the other tested miRNAs showed no difference.

Our data indicate a significant reduction of the proinflammatory SASP after bariatric surgery. We observed an increase in telomere length and reduced oxidative stress at telomeres. miR10a_5p which is downregulated during aging was upregulated after surgery. Overall, bariatric surgery ameliorated the premature aging phenotype.