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AGING

Impaired gut barrier affects microglia health

Nature Neuroscience volume 25, pages 268–270 (2022)Cite this article

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As researchers uncover new roles for the microbiome in health and disease, recent studies have emerged linking the microbiome to aspects of aging. Mossad and colleagues demonstrate that a microbiome-mediated disruption of the intestinal barrier, associated with aging, can contribute to dysfunction of microglia in mice.

As human lifespan increases, age-related diseases will impose greater burdens on societies and economies around the world. Yet, many aspects of the aging process remain poorly understood, including how environmental and lifestyle factors influence aging. Research into the effect of gut bacteria on health and disease has become an area of recent interest, as seminal studies have shown a role for the microbiome in age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease1,2, as well as on cellular and molecular signatures of aging and cognition3,4. However, it remains unclear whether aging-related changes to the gut microbiome and microglia are linked.

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Fig. 1: Increased intestinal permeability with age facilitates the translocation and accumulation of metabolites that promote microglia dysfunction.

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  1. Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    John W. Bostick & Sarkis K. Mazmanian

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  1. John W. Bostick
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  2. Sarkis K. Mazmanian
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Correspondence to Sarkis K. Mazmanian.

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Bostick, J.W., Mazmanian, S.K. Impaired gut barrier affects microglia health. Nat Neurosci 25, 268–270 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-022-01028-2

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