Gut Microbiota Predicts Healthy Late-Life Aging in Male Mice

Abstract

Calorie restriction (CR) extends lifespan and retards age-related chronic diseases in most species. There is growing evidence that the gut microbiota has a pivotal role in host health and age-related pathological conditions. Yet, it is still unclear how CR and the gut microbiota are related to healthy aging. Here, we report findings from a small longitudinal study of male C57BL/6 mice maintained on either ad libitum or mild (15%) CR diets from 21 months of age and tracked until natural death. We demonstrate that CR results in a significantly reduced rate of increase in the frailty index (FI), a well-established indicator of aging. We observed significant alterations in diversity, as well as compositional patterns of the mouse gut microbiota during the aging process. Interrogating the FI-related microbial features using machine learning techniques, we show that gut microbial signatures from 21-month-old mice can predict the healthy aging of 30-month-old mice with reasonable accuracy. This study deepens our understanding of the links between CR, gut microbiota, and frailty in the aging process of mice.

Identification of Indicative Gut Microbial Guilds in a Natural Aging Mouse Model

“…Regarding the correlation of certain biomarkers with gut microbiota, Ke et al (2021) revealed that some hematological parameters that were significantly increased in aged miceincluding mean corpuscular volume, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, and lymphocytewere correlated to some gut microbes . In the study of Maffei et al (2017), the Frailty Index (FI 34 ) was found to be positively correlated with the abundance of Coprobacillus and Dialister and negatively correlated to Paraprevotella, Sutterella, and Rikenellaceae family OTU .…”

Emerging Interrelationship Between the Gut Microbiome and Cellular Senescence in the Context of Aging and Disease: Perspectives and Therapeutic Opportunities

“…Biological aging is thus argued as a more comprehensive and reliable predictor of the deleterious effects of aging as well as the development of mitigating therapies [ 78 , 79 ]. In this regard, there is some evidence that decreased gut microbial diversity may be correlated with the “frailty index” which is considered a predictor of the biological age and healthspan [ 80 , 81 ]. However, the relationship between gut dysbiosis and longevity is relatively well studied.…”

The influence of the gut microbiome on ovarian aging

“…Gut microbial features can be used to predict healthy aging or mortality in elderly individuals. 7 , 8 Interestingly, experiments on mice demonstrated that transplantation of aged donor microbiota accelerates specific processes of age-associated brain degeneration in the recipient, and conversely, transplantation of young donor microbiota can reverse this condition. 9 , 10 It has been suggested that the gut microbiota could serve as a potential therapeutic target for new anti-aging interventions.…”