Aging-caused the changes of the gut microbiota drive intestinal barrier dysfunction and increase sepsis susceptibility.

Huoyan Liang, Xianfei Ding, Shaohua Liu, Shuai Tong, Xu Wang, Zihao Zhang, Wei Wang, Xiaojuan Zhang, Yangyang Yuan, Yong Jiang, Tongwen Sun

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Engineering Research Center for Critical Care Medicine, Henan Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Henan Key Laboratory of Sepsis in Health Commission, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Sepsis, Henan Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.Department of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Engineering Research Center for Critical Care Medicine, Henan Key Laboratory of Critical Care Medicine, Henan Key Laboratory of Sepsis in Health Commission, Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Sepsis, Henan Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Physiological and pathological changes associated with aging contribute to deteriorating disease prognosis in sepsis. However, the mechanisms by which these disturbances exacerbate inflammation remain underexplored. In this study, fecal samples were collected from aged and young septic patients and mice and subsequently transplanted into young pseudo-germ-free mice via fecal microbiota transplantation. Fecal, colon tissue, and blood samples were collected to be used 16S rDNA sequencing to characterize the gut microbiota, histopathological examination, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and FITC-dextran intestinal permeability assay to assess gut injury and gut barrier function. Additionally, nontargeted and targeted metabolomics were used to identify differential metabolites in the feces of aged and young septic mice. To further validate the roles of specific bacterial strains and their metabolites in sepsis, genetically engineered bacteria were used in both

The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.

Research summary

Aging-related changes in gut microbiota contribute to intestinal barrier dysfunction and increased susceptibility to sepsis. The study addresses mechanisms linked to aging that exacerbate inflammation and disease, which is relevant to understanding the root causes of age-related health decline.

Author of this paper? Send a correction.