1
|
Parker A, Romano S, Ansorge R, Aboelnour A, Le Gall G, Savva GM, Pontifex MG, Telatin A, Baker D, Jones E, Vauzour D, Rudder S, Blackshaw LA, Jeffery G, Carding SR. Fecal microbiota transfer between young and aged mice reverses hallmarks of the aging gut, eye, and brain. Microbiome 2022; 10:68. [PMID: 35501923 PMCID: PMC9063061 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01243-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Altered intestinal microbiota composition in later life is associated with inflammaging, declining tissue function, and increased susceptibility to age-associated chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative dementias. Here, we tested the hypothesis that manipulating the intestinal microbiota influences the development of major comorbidities associated with aging and, in particular, inflammation affecting the brain and retina. METHODS Using fecal microbiota transplantation, we exchanged the intestinal microbiota of young (3 months), old (18 months), and aged (24 months) mice. Whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing and metabolomics were used to develop a custom analysis workflow, to analyze the changes in gut microbiota composition and metabolic potential. Effects of age and microbiota transfer on the gut barrier, retina, and brain were assessed using protein assays, immunohistology, and behavioral testing. RESULTS We show that microbiota composition profiles and key species enriched in young or aged mice are successfully transferred by FMT between young and aged mice and that FMT modulates resulting metabolic pathway profiles. The transfer of aged donor microbiota into young mice accelerates age-associated central nervous system (CNS) inflammation, retinal inflammation, and cytokine signaling and promotes loss of key functional protein in the eye, effects which are coincident with increased intestinal barrier permeability. Conversely, these detrimental effects can be reversed by the transfer of young donor microbiota. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate that the aging gut microbiota drives detrimental changes in the gut-brain and gut-retina axes suggesting that microbial modulation may be of therapeutic benefit in preventing inflammation-related tissue decline in later life. Video abstract.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aimée Parker
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK.
| | - Stefano Romano
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - Rebecca Ansorge
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - Asmaa Aboelnour
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - Gwenaelle Le Gall
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - George M Savva
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | | | - Andrea Telatin
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - David Baker
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - Emily Jones
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - David Vauzour
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
| | - Steven Rudder
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - L Ashley Blackshaw
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK
| | - Glen Jeffery
- Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London, EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - Simon R Carding
- Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme, Quadram Institute, Norwich, NR4 7UQ, UK.
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK.
| |
Collapse
|