Flies Raised in a Germ-Free Environment Exhibit Normal Aging by Some Measures and Very Little Aging by Other Measures

Raising animals in germ-free environments, including the absence of a gut microbiome, is a difficult and expensive undertaking, but it is known to slow the pace of aging in a variety of species, including mice. Researchers here work with flies, digging deeper into the mechanisms by which the absence of microbial species produces this outcome. At the high level we might take these studies to underscore the importance of the immune system in aging, and the degree to which it is negatively impacted by life-long interaction with various microbial species. That removal of pathogens is beneficial tells us something about the priority that should be placed on the development of means to restore and repair the aged immune system. Commensal microbes provide a critical contribution to aging. Caenorhabditis elegans grown without a bacterial microbiome (axenic) live twice as long as those grown conventionally. Similarly, most analyses have suggested that Drosophila lifespan is extended by axenic growth, though that relationship depends on both growth conditions and the details of how such studies are performed. For example, lack of a microbiome, particularly early in life, may limit the development of a robust innate immune response and alter the expression of stress-response genes, and therefore sensitize an individual to later microbial challenge. Moreover, the presence of a microbiome can compensate for a diet with low protein content, perhaps because the bacteria themselves ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs