Differences in the gut Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio across age groups in healthy Ukrainian population

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Abstract

Background

Gut microbiota plays an important role in physiological and pathological processes of the host organism, including aging. Microbiota composition was shown to vary significantly throughout the life course. Age-related changes in the composition of microbiota were reported in several human studies. In present study, age-related dynamics of phylogenetic profile of gut microbiota was investigated in 1550 healthy participants from Ukrainian population.

Results

Significant changes in the microbiota composition determined by qRT-PCR at the level of major microbial phyla across age groups have been observed. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes phyla increased, while that of Bacteroidetes decreased from childhood to elderly age. Accordingly, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio was shown to significantly increase until elder age. In both sexes, odds to have F/B > 1 tended to increase with age, reaching maximum values in elder age groups [OR = 2.7 (95% CI, 1.2–6.0) and OR = 3.7 (95% CI, 1.4–9.6) for female and male 60–69-year age groups, respectively, compared to same-sex reference (0–9-year) age groups].

Conclusions

In conclusion, data from our study indicate that composition of the human intestinal microbiota at the level of major microbial phyla significantly differs across age groups. In both sexes, the F/B ratio tends to increase with age from 0–9-year to 60–69-year age groups. Further studies are needed for a better understanding of mechanisms underlying age-related dynamics of human microbiota composition.

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Through Ageing, and Beyond: Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory Status in Seniors and Centenarians

Elena Biagi, Lotta Nylund, Marco Candela … (2010)

Background Age-related physiological changes in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as modifications in lifestyle, nutritional behaviour, and functionality of the host immune system, inevitably affect the gut microbiota, resulting in a greater susceptibility to infections. Methodology/Principal Findings By using the Human Intestinal Tract Chip (HITChip) and quantitative PCR of 16S rRNA genes of Bacteria and Archaea, we explored the age-related differences in the gut microbiota composition among young adults, elderly, and centenarians, i.e subjects who reached the extreme limits of the human lifespan, living for over 100 years. We observed that the microbial composition and diversity of the gut ecosystem of young adults and seventy-years old people is highly similar but differs significantly from that of the centenarians. After 100 years of symbiotic association with the human host, the microbiota is characterized by a rearrangement in the Firmicutes population and an enrichment in facultative anaerobes, notably pathobionts. The presence of such a compromised microbiota in the centenarians is associated with an increased inflammatory status, also known as inflammageing, as determined by a range of peripheral blood inflammatory markers. This may be explained by a remodelling of the centenarians' microbiota, with a marked decrease in Faecalibacterium prauznitzii and relatives, symbiotic species with reported anti-inflammatory properties. As signature bacteria of the long life we identified specifically Eubacterium limosum and relatives that were more than ten-fold increased in the centenarians. Conclusions/Significance We provide evidence for the fact that the ageing process deeply affects the structure of the human gut microbiota, as well as its homeostasis with the host's immune system. Because of its crucial role in the host physiology and health status, age-related differences in the gut microbiota composition may be related to the progression of diseases and frailty in the elderly population.

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Adiposity, gut microbiota and faecal short chain fatty acids are linked in adult humans

Nikhil Fernandes, W-W Su, S Rahat-Rozenbloom … (2014)

Background/Objectives: High dietary fibre intakes may protect against obesity by influencing colonic fermentation and the colonic microbiota. Though, recent studies suggest that increased colonic fermentation contributes to adiposity. Diet influences the composition of the gut microbiota. Previous research has not evaluated dietary intakes, body mass index (BMI), faecal microbiota and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) in the same cohort. Our objectives were to compare dietary intakes, faecal SCFA concentrations and gut microbial profiles in healthy lean (LN, BMI⩽25) and overweight or obese (OWOB, BMI>25) participants. Design: We collected demographic information, 3-day diet records, physical activity questionnaires and breath and faecal samples from 94 participants of whom 52 were LN and 42 OWOB. Results: Dietary intakes and physical activity levels did not differ significantly between groups. OWOB participants had higher faecal acetate (P=0.05), propionate (P=0.03), butyrate (P=0.05), valerate (P=0.03) and total short chain fatty acid (SCFA; P=0.02) concentrations than LN. No significant differences in Firmicutes to Bacteroides/Prevotella (F:B) ratio was observed between groups. However, in the entire cohort, Bacteroides/Prevotella counts were negatively correlated with faecal total SCFA (r=−0.32, P=0.002) and F:B ratio was positively correlated with faecal total SCFA (r=0.42, P<0.0001). Principal component analysis identified distinct gut microbiota and SCFA–F:B ratio components, which together accounted for 59% of the variation. F:B ratio loaded with the SCFA and not with the microbiota suggesting that SCFA and F:B ratio vary together and may be interrelated. Conclusions: The results support the hypothesis that colonic fermentation patterns may be altered, leading to different faecal SCFA concentrations in OWOB compared with LN humans. More in-depth studies looking at the metabolic fate of SCFA produced in LN and OWOB participants are needed in order to determine the role of SCFA in obesity.

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Gut microbiome and aging: Physiological and mechanistic insights

Ravinder Nagpal, Rabina Mainali, Shokouh Ahmadi … (2018)

The development of human gut microbiota begins as soon as the neonate leaves the protective environment of the uterus (or maybe in-utero) and is exposed to innumerable microorganisms from the mother as well as the surrounding environment. Concurrently, the host responses to these microbes during early life manifest during the development of an otherwise hitherto immature immune system. The human gut microbiome, which comprises an extremely diverse and complex community of microorganisms inhabiting the intestinal tract, keeps on fluctuating during different stages of life. While these deviations are largely natural, inevitable and benign, recent studies show that unsolicited perturbations in gut microbiota configuration could have strong impact on several features of host health and disease. Our microbiota undergoes the most prominent deviations during infancy and old age and, interestingly, our immune health is also in its weakest and most unstable state during these two critical stages of life, indicating that our microbiota and health develop and age hand-in-hand. However, the mechanisms underlying these interactions are only now beginning to be revealed. The present review summarizes the evidences related to the age-associated changes in intestinal microbiota and vice-versa, mechanisms involved in this bi-directional relationship, and the prospective for development of microbiota-based interventions such as probiotics for healthy aging.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Alexander Vaiserman:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0597-0439

vaiserman@geront.kiev.ua

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Microbiol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMC Microbiol

Title: BMC Microbiology

Publisher: BioMed Central (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 1471-2180

Publication date (Electronic): 22 July 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 22 July 2020

Publication date Collection: 2020

Volume: 20

Electronic Location Identifier: 221

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.419027.9, ISNI 0000 0004 0367 6110, Institute of Gerontology, ; Vyshgorodskaya st. 67, Kyiv, 04114 Ukraine

[2 ]Molecular Genetic Laboratory Diagen, Kyiv, Ukraine

[3 ]GRID grid.445463.4, ISNI 0000 0004 6478 1758, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, ; Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine

[4 ]PB MEDICOM-IN, Dnipro, Ukraine

[5 ]GRID grid.412081.e, Bogomolets National Medical University, ; Kyiv, Ukraine

Author information

Alexander Vaiserman http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0597-0439

Article

Publisher ID: 1903

DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01903-7

PMC ID: 7374892

PubMed ID: 32698765

SO-VID: 4aa7e98c-71a0-4417-b8c5-5533278d77c7

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Open AccessThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data.

History

Date received : 1 May 2020

Date accepted : 14 July 2020

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Microbiology & Virology

Keywords: gut microbiota composition,firmicutes/bacteroidetes ratio,aging,age-related changes

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Microbiology & Virology

Keywords: gut microbiota composition, firmicutes/bacteroidetes ratio, aging, age-related changes

Differences in the gut Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio across age groups in healthy Ukrainian population

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Most cited references 33

Through Ageing, and Beyond: Gut Microbiota and Inflammatory Status in Seniors and Centenarians

Adiposity, gut microbiota and faecal short chain fatty acids are linked in adult humans

Gut microbiome and aging: Physiological and mechanistic insights

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