MSGID: 1:317/3 6273531b   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Fecal transplants reverse hallmarks of aging    
      
     Date:   
         May 4, 2022   
     Source:   
         University of East Anglia   
     Summary:   
         In the search for eternal youth, fecal transplants may seem like   
         an unlikely way to reverse the aging process. However, scientists   
         have provided evidence, from research in mice, that transplanting   
         fecal microbiota from young into old mice can reverse hallmarks   
         of aging in the gut, eyes, and brain. In the reverse experiment,   
         microbes from aged mice induced inflammation in the brain of   
         young recipients and depleted a key protein required for normal   
         vision. These findings show that gut microbes play a role in the   
         regulating some of the detrimental effects of ageing and open up   
         the possibility of gut microbe-based therapies to combat decline   
         in later life.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
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   In the search for eternal youth, fecal transplants may seem like an   
   unlikely way to reverse the ageing process.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   However, scientists at the Quadram Institute and the University of East   
   Anglia have provided evidence, from research in mice, that transplanting   
   faecal microbiota from young into old mice can reverse hallmarks of   
   ageing in the gut, eyes, and brain.   
      
   In the reverse experiment, microbes from aged mice induced inflammation   
   in the brain of young recipients and depleted a key protein required   
   for normal vision.   
      
   These findings show that gut microbes play a role in the regulating some   
   of the detrimental effects of ageing and open up the possibility of gut   
   microbe-based therapies to combat decline in later life.   
      
   Prof Simon Carding, from UEA's Norwich Medical School and head of the   
   Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme at the Quadram Institute,   
   said: "This ground-breaking study provides tantalising evidence for the   
   direct involvement of gut microbes in ageing and the functional decline   
   of brain function and vision and offers a potential solution in the   
   form of gut microbe replacement therapy."  It has been known for some   
   time that the population of microbes that we carry around in our gut,   
   collectively called the gut microbiota, is linked to health.   
      
   Most diseases are associated with changes in the types and behaviour of   
   bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microbes in an individual's gut.   
      
      
      
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   Some of these changes in microbiota composition happen as we age,   
   adversely affecting metabolism and immunity, and this has been associated   
   with age- related disorders including inflammatory bowel diseases,   
   along with cardiovascular, autoimmune, metabolic and neurodegenerative   
   disorders.   
      
   To better understand the effects of these changes in the microbiota in old   
   age, scientists from the Quadram Institute transferred the gut microbes   
   from aged mice into healthy young mice, and vice versa. They then looked   
   at how this affected inflammatory hallmarks of ageing in the gut, brain   
   and eye, which suffer from declining function in later life.   
      
   The study, published in the journal Microbiome, found that the microbiota   
   from old donors led to loss of integrity of the lining of the gut,   
   allowing bacterial products to cross into the circulation, which results   
   in triggering the immune system and inflammation in the brain and eyes.   
      
   Age-related chronic inflammation, known as inflammageing, has   
   been associated with the activation of specific immune cells found   
   in brain. These cells were also over-activated in the young mice who   
   received aged microbiome transplants.   
      
   In the eye, the team also found specific proteins associated with retinal   
   degeneration were elevated in the young mice receiving microbiota from   
   old donors.   
      
      
      
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   In old mice, these detrimental changes in the gut, eye and brain could   
   be reversed by transplanting the gut microbiota from young mice.   
      
   In ongoing studies, the team are now working to understand how long these   
   positive effects can last, and to identify the beneficial components of   
   the young donor microbiota and how they impact on organs distant from   
   the gut.   
      
   The microbiota of young mice, and the old mice who received young   
   microbiota transplants were enriched in beneficial bacteria that have   
   previously been associated with good health in both mice and humans.   
      
   The researchers have also analysed the products which these bacteria   
   produce by breaking down elements of our diet. This has uncovered   
   significant shifts in particular lipids (fats) and vitamin metabolism,   
   which may be linked to the changes seen in inflammatory cells in the   
   eye and brain.   
      
   Similar pathways exist in humans, and the human gut microbiota also   
   changes significantly in later life, but the researchers caution about   
   extrapolating their results directly to humans until similar studies in   
   elderly humans can be performed.   
      
   A new facility for Microbiota Replacement Therapy (MRT), also known as   
   Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is being built in the Quadram   
   Institute that will facilitate such trials, as well as other trials for   
   microbiota-related conditions.   
      
   Lead author of the study, Dr Aimee Parker from the Quadram Institute said:   
   "We were excited to find that by changing the gut microbiota of elderly   
   individuals, we could rescue indicators of age-associated decline commonly   
   seen in degenerative conditions of the eye and brain.   
      
   "Our results provide more evidence of the important links between microbes   
   in the gut and healthy ageing of tissues and organs around the body. We   
   hope that our findings will contribute ultimately to understanding how we   
   can manipulate our diet and our gut bacteria to maximise good health in   
   later life."  The research was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological   
   Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation.   
      
   'Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks   
   of the aging gut, eye, and brain' is published in the journal Microbiome.   
      
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_East_Anglia. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Aime'e Parker, Stefano Romano, Rebecca Ansorge, Asmaa Aboelnour,   
         Gwenaelle Le Gall, George M. Savva, Matthew G. Pontifex, Andrea   
         Telatin, David Baker, Emily Jones, David Vauzour, Steven Rudder,   
         L. Ashley Blackshaw, Glen Jeffery, Simon R. Carding. Fecal   
         microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks   
         of the aging gut, eye, and brain. Microbiome, 2022; 10 (1) DOI:   
         10.1186/s40168-022-01243-w   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220504082622.htm   
      
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