Rampelli Simone, Soverini Matteo, D'Amico Federica, Barone Monica, Tavella Teresa, Monti Daniela, Capri Miriam, Astolfi Annalisa, Brigidi Patrizia, Biagi Elena, Franceschi Claudio, Turroni Silvia, Candela Marco
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Unit of Microbial Ecology of Health, Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
mSystems. 2020 Mar 24;5(2):e00124-20. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00124-20.
The gut microbiome of long-lived people display an increasing abundance of subdominant species, as well as a rearrangement in health-associated bacteria, but less is known about microbiome functions. In order to disentangle the contribution of the gut microbiome to the complex trait of human longevity, we here describe the metagenomic change of the human gut microbiome along with aging in subjects with up to extreme longevity, including centenarians (aged 99 to 104 years) and semisupercentenarians (aged 105 to 109 years), i.e., demographically very uncommon subjects who reach the extreme limit of the human life span. According to our findings, the gut microbiome of centenarians and semisupercentenarians is more suited for xenobiotic degradation and shows a rearrangement in metabolic pathways related to carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism. Collectively, our data go beyond the relationship between intestinal bacteria and physiological changes that occur with aging by detailing the shifts in the potential metagenomic functions of the gut microbiome of centenarians and semisupercentenarians as a response to progressive dietary and lifestyle modifications. The study of longevity may help us understand how human beings can delay or survive the most frequent age-related diseases and morbidities. In this scenario, the gut microbiome has been proposed as one of the variables to monitor and possibly support healthy aging. Indeed, the disruption of host-gut microbiome homeostasis has been associated with inflammation and intestinal permeability as well as a general decline in bone and cognitive health. Here, we performed a metagenomic assessment of fecal samples from semisupercentenarians, i.e., 105 to 109 years old, in comparison to young adults, the elderly, and centenarians, shedding light on the longest compositional and functional trajectory of the human gut microbiome with aging. In addition to providing a fine taxonomic resolution down to the species level, our study emphasizes the progressive age-related increase in degradation pathways of pervasive xenobiotics in Western societies, possibly as a result of a supportive process within the molecular continuum characterizing aging.
长寿人群的肠道微生物群中，亚优势物种的丰度不断增加，与健康相关的细菌也发生了重新排列，但人们对微生物群的功能了解较少。为了厘清肠道微生物群对人类长寿这一复杂性状的贡献，我们在此描述了人类肠道微生物群的宏基因组变化，该变化伴随着年龄增长，涉及包括百岁老人（99至104岁）和半超百岁老人（105至109岁）在内的极端长寿人群，即人口统计学上极为罕见、达到人类寿命极限的人群。根据我们的研究结果，百岁老人和半超百岁老人的肠道微生物群更适合对外源生物进行降解，并且在与碳水化合物、氨基酸和脂质代谢相关的代谢途径中表现出重新排列。总体而言，我们的数据通过详细阐述百岁老人和半超百岁老人肠道微生物群潜在宏基因组功能的变化，以应对渐进性的饮食和生活方式改变，超越了肠道细菌与衰老过程中发生的生理变化之间的关系。对长寿的研究可能有助于我们理解人类如何延缓或抵御最常见的与年龄相关的疾病和发病情况。在这种情况下，肠道微生物群已被提议作为监测并可能支持健康衰老的变量之一。事实上，宿主 - 肠道微生物群稳态的破坏与炎症、肠道通透性以及骨骼和认知健康的普遍下降有关。在此，我们对来自半超百岁老人（105至109岁）的粪便样本进行了宏基因组评估，并与年轻人、老年人和百岁老人进行比较，揭示了人类肠道微生物群随年龄增长最长的组成和功能轨迹。除了提供精细到物种水平的分类分辨率外，我们的研究强调了西方社会中与年龄相关的普遍存在的外源生物降解途径的逐步增加，这可能是衰老分子连续体中一个支持性过程的结果。
