Scientists find leaky gut may be linked to faster biological aging

Accelerated biological aging, when the body ages faster than its chronological years, increases susceptibility to serious health conditions typically associated with older adults, such as cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, severe infections, and decreased vaccine efficacy. The gut microbiome and its possible leakage into the bloodstream are implicated as key factors in this aging process.

Dr. Abdel-Mohsen, Wistar Institute's associate professor along with his collaborators, investigated how gut leakage can impact the immune system and lead to chronic inflammation, which may accelerate aging by analysing samples from people living with chronic HIV infection, which is known to potentially accelerate biological age. This makes it a suitable model to investigate mechanisms of accelerated biological age in people living with chronic conditions.

The team examined colon, ileum, stool, and blood samples from individuals with chronic HIV infection along with matched controls and discovered a significant correlation between disrupted gut microbiomes, heightened intestinal permeability (leaky gut), and accelerated biological aging. They also found a link between accelerated biological aging and the microbiomes of both the colon and ileum, but not the fecal microbiome.

The findings indicated that the location of the microbiome greatly influences its effects and that the biological age can be assessed through various advanced techniques such as telomere length analysis and epigenetic clocks, which estimate age by examining DNA methylation patterns.

"More investigation is needed to fully understand the underlying causes and potential impacts of our findings," said Dr. Abdel-Mohsen. "Moreover, there's a crucial need to create strategies to prevent intestinal dysbiosis and gut leakiness and to determine how these strategies could affect an individual's biological age. Our work is just the beginning of an exciting journey into enhancing health and longevity."

Reference: Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen. Distinct intestinal microbial signatures linked to accelerated systemic and intestinal biological aging. Microbiome, 2024; 12 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s40168-024-01758-4