Table_2_Altered Fecal Microbiota Composition in Older Adults With Frailty.doc

ObjectiveFrailty is a common geriatric syndrome that is diagnosed and staged based mainly on symptoms. We aimed to evaluate frailty-related alterations of the intestinal permeability and profile fecal microbiota of healthy and frail older adults to identify microbial biomarkers of this syndrome.MethodsWe collected serum and fecal samples from 94 community-dwelling older adults, along with anthropometric, medical, mental health, and lifestyle data. Serum inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and HGMB1 and the intestinal permeability biomarker zonulin were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing method was performed to determine the fecal composition of fecal microbiota. We analyzed the diversity and composition differences of the gut microbiota in the two groups and assessed the relationship between the changes in microbiota structure and clinical biomarkers.ResultsOlder adults with frailty showed higher concentrations of IL-6, HGMB1, and zonulin. Although there were no statistically significant differences in the diversity index and evenness indices or species richness of fecal microbiota between the two groups, we found significant microbiota structure differences. Compared with the control group, fecal samples from the frail group had higher levels of Akkermansia, Parabacteroides, and Klebsiella and lower levels of the commensal genera Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, Roseburia, Megamonas, and Blautia. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that the intergenus interactions were more common in healthy controls than older adults with frailty. Escherichia/Shigella, Pyramidobacter, Alistipes, and Akkermansia were positively correlated with IL-6, while Faecalibacterium, Prevotella, and Roseburia were negatively correlated with IL-6. Alistipes were found to be positively correlated with HGMB1. Akkermansia and Alistipes were linked to the increased serum level of inflammatory factors and intestinal permeability.ConclusionsFrailty is associated with differences in the composition of fecal microbiota. These findings might aid in the development of probiotics or microbial-based therapies for frailty.

ObjectiveFrailty 是一种常见的老年综合征，其诊断和分期主要基于症状。本研究旨在评估健康及易损老年人在肠道通透性及粪便微生物群组成方面的相关变化，以识别该综合征的微生物生物标志物。方法：我们收集了94名社区居住老年人的血清和粪便样本，并收集了相关的人体测量学、医学、心理健康和生活习惯数据。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法测量血清炎症细胞因子IL-6和HGMB1以及肠道通透性生物标志物 zonulin。通过16S rRNA扩增子测序方法确定粪便微生物群的组成。我们分析了两组人群肠道微生物群的多样性和组成差异，并评估了微生物群结构变化与临床生物标志物之间的关系。结果：易损老年人表现出IL-6、HGMB1和zonulin浓度升高。尽管两组在粪便微生物群的多样性指数、均匀度指数或物种丰富度上没有统计学上的显著差异，但我们发现了显著的微生物群结构差异。与对照组相比，易损组的粪便样本中阿克曼菌、拟杆菌和克雷伯菌的水平较高，而共生菌类如粪杆菌、普雷沃菌、玫瑰杆菌、巨单胞菌和布劳蒂菌的水平较低。Spearman秩相关分析显示，在健康对照组中，种间相互作用比易损老年人更为常见。大肠杆菌/志贺菌、锥形杆菌、毛螺菌和阿克曼菌与IL-6呈正相关，而粪杆菌、普雷沃菌和玫瑰杆菌与IL-6呈负相关。毛螺菌与HGMB1呈正相关。阿克曼菌和毛螺菌与炎症因子血清水平和肠道通透性的增加相关。结论：易损性与粪便微生物群的组成差异相关。这些发现可能有助于开发针对易损性的益生菌或基于微生物的治疗方法。