Research Topic Highlights
This collection of studies highlights the significant role of aging in shaping microbiome composition and its associated effects across diverse health contexts. The human and mouse aging studies demonstrate an age-associated increase in pro-inflammatory Gram-negative bacteria linked with reduced antimicrobial peptides in the colon, highlighting intestinal dysbiosis as a driver for inflammaging. Exploration into menopausal status reveals that postmenopausal women harbor distinct skin microbiome profiles characterized by decreased Cutibacterium and increased bacterial diversity, independent of chronological skin aging parameters, suggesting hormonal influences on microbiome alterations. Investigations in older lung cancer patients indicate feasible collection and analysis of geriatric assessment metrics and biomarkers, uncovering specific gut microbes linked to physical and functional health outcomes, thus implicating microbiome changes in cancer-treatment toxicity and functional decline. Furthermore, aging-related inflammation due to cellular senescence accentuates the systemic risk for age-related diseases, influenced significantly by diverse microbiomes including skin and oral microbiota, suggesting the potential of microbiome-directed interventions for age-associated disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. Collectively, these studies underscore microbiome modulation as a promising target to enhance quality of life and healthspan during aging.
Context and Scope
The microbiome is composed of all the microbes found in a specific location, including bacteria, eukaryotic viruses, bacteriophages, fungi, archaea, and other eukaryotic microbes. It participates in essential processes in living organisms, such as inflammation, immune system, metabolism, and aging. The composition and diversity of the microbiome changes according to development and aging. Moreover, disturbance of the microbiome can give rise to a wide range of diseases in humans. In recent years, most advancements have been made in the characterization of the human gut microbiome and novel insights have revealed a critical association between the microbiome and aging; however, there is less research addressing the relationship between aging and disease and the microbiome at different body locations (e.g., skin, vagina, mouth, lungs, etc.).
Despite the advancement in the field, our understanding about the dynamics and mechanisms that modulate the microbiome during aging, and how the shifts in microbiome composition are implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related chronic diseases, is limited. Improving our understanding of microbiome function and its impact on physiological aging can uncover relevant determinants to establish better predictors of life expectancy. These establish interventions, such as dietary, that can impact aging and health status improving life quality and expectancy. However, integrative approaches including multiomics, molecular, computational, and functional analyses are needed to expand our knowledge about intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing microbiome and predict more accurately host health during aging process.
The aim of this Research Topic is to highlight novel and breakthrough research in microbiome and aging field. We welcome submissions from manuscripts such as reviews, methods or research articles, including the following themes but not limited to:
• New methods, pipelines and advances for metagenomic analysis
• Relevant work about microbiomes in other locations different to gut
• Multiomics analysis of microbiome
• Potential microbiome interventions impacting aging and health
• Studies about microbe-host interactions and associated factors
• Microbiome dynamics through time
Research Topic Highlights
This collection of studies highlights the significant role of aging in shaping microbiome composition and its associated effects across diverse health contexts. The human and mouse aging studies demonstrate an age-associated increase in pro-inflammatory Gram-negative bacteria linked with reduced antimicrobial peptides in the colon, highlighting intestinal dysbiosis as a driver for inflammaging. Exploration into menopausal status reveals that postmenopausal women harbor distinct skin microbiome profiles characterized by decreased Cutibacterium and increased bacterial diversity, independent of chronological skin aging parameters, suggesting hormonal influences on microbiome alterations. Investigations in older lung cancer patients indicate feasible collection and analysis of geriatric assessment metrics and biomarkers, uncovering specific gut microbes linked to physical and functional health outcomes, thus implicating microbiome changes in cancer-treatment toxicity and functional decline. Furthermore, aging-related inflammation due to cellular senescence accentuates the systemic risk for age-related diseases, influenced significantly by diverse microbiomes including skin and oral microbiota, suggesting the potential of microbiome-directed interventions for age-associated disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's. Collectively, these studies underscore microbiome modulation as a promising target to enhance quality of life and healthspan during aging.
Context and Scope
The microbiome is composed of all the microbes found in a specific location, including bacteria, eukaryotic viruses, bacteriophages, fungi, archaea, and other eukaryotic microbes. It participates in essential processes in living organisms, such as inflammation, immune system, metabolism, and aging. The composition and diversity of the microbiome changes according to development and aging. Moreover, disturbance of the microbiome can give rise to a wide range of diseases in humans. In recent years, most advancements have been made in the characterization of the human gut microbiome and novel insights have revealed a critical association between the microbiome and aging; however, there is less research addressing the relationship between aging and disease and the microbiome at different body locations (e.g., skin, vagina, mouth, lungs, etc.).
Despite the advancement in the field, our understanding about the dynamics and mechanisms that modulate the microbiome during aging, and how the shifts in microbiome composition are implicated in the pathogenesis of age-related chronic diseases, is limited. Improving our understanding of microbiome function and its impact on physiological aging can uncover relevant determinants to establish better predictors of life expectancy. These establish interventions, such as dietary, that can impact aging and health status improving life quality and expectancy. However, integrative approaches including multiomics, molecular, computational, and functional analyses are needed to expand our knowledge about intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing microbiome and predict more accurately host health during aging process.
The aim of this Research Topic is to highlight novel and breakthrough research in microbiome and aging field. We welcome submissions from manuscripts such as reviews, methods or research articles, including the following themes but not limited to:
• New methods, pipelines and advances for metagenomic analysis
• Relevant work about microbiomes in other locations different to gut
• Multiomics analysis of microbiome
• Potential microbiome interventions impacting aging and health
• Studies about microbe-host interactions and associated factors
• Microbiome dynamics through time