Researchers have shown that the state of our gut microbiota can influence healthy or unhealthy aging. It is also associated with the life expectancy of individuals.
- The study, conducted on 9,000 patients, aged 18 to 101, shows that healthy people have a more diverse and unique gut microbiota.
- This composition of the gut microbiota varies as we age and is an indicator of our good or bad health.
The more studies progress, the more scientists discover powers in the intestinal microbiota. Researchers at the Institute for Systems Biology in the United States have just found two new ones: healthy aging and longer life expectancy. Their work has been published in the journal Nature Metabolism. To reach these conclusions, they analyzed the intestinal microbiota and clinical data of more than 9,000 patients, aged 18 to 101.
Different gut microbiota in late adulthood
The intestinal microbiota characterizes all the microorganisms living in the intestine: bacteria, viruses, parasites and non-pathogenic fungi. The intestinal microbiota influences a large part of the body, such as the immune system, the brain, the cardiovascular system or the bone system… But, until now, researchers did not know its role in the aging process. . It is therefore on this question that the scientists of the Institute for Systems Biology have worked. The goal was to determine the characteristics of the microbiota that would allow individuals to live longer and healthier lives. According to them, as healthy patients age, their intestinal microbiota become more and more singular, that is to say differentiated from others.
Organic compounds that increase life expectancy
In analyzes of these singular gut microbiota, the researchers found several elements that may explain healthy aging. These include, for example, indole, an aromatic organic compound present in the blood plasma of these patients. Indole is a derivative of tryptophan, which could lengthen life expectancy. Indeed, previous studies have shown that tryptophan prolongs the life of mice in the laboratory. Another organic compound, phenylacetylglutamine, has also been found in the blood tests of patients with more differentiated microbiota with age. Again, previous work had shown that the level of phenylacetylglutamine in the blood of centenarians was very high. A unique microbiota could therefore extend the lifespan of patients because researchers have shown that the composition of the microbiota in healthy individuals around 80 years of age is unique. This was not the case in unhealthy individuals.
A unique intestinal microbiota is a guarantee of good health
“Changes in microbiota are not just diagnostic of healthy aging, but also directly influence health (individuals) as we ages”, said Tomasz Wilmanski, a researcher at the Institute for Systems Biology who led the study. Indole, for example, is known to reduce inflammation in the intestine. American scientists believe that chronic inflammation is a major factor in the progression of age-related diseases.
The microbiota evolves throughout life
The researchers say that as we age, the adult gut microbiota continues to grow in healthy individuals, but not in unhealthy individuals. They add that the composition of the gut microbiota of healthy young patients – in early to mid-adulthood – is not the same as that of healthy people in late adulthood. “This is exciting work that we believe will have major clinical implications for monitoring and modifying the health of the gut microbiota throughout a person’s lifetime.“concluded Dr. Nathan Price, co-author of the article.
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