Muscle strength is increased in mice that are colonized with microbiota from high-functioning older adults

• Published in: Experimental gerontology Vol. 127; p. 110722
• Main Authors: Fielding, Roger A., Reeves, Andrew R., Jasuja, Ravi, Liu, Christine, Barrett, Brittany B., Lustgarten, Michael S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.11.2019
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Animals; Bacteroidetes - isolation & purification; Bacteroidetes - physiology; Body composition; Body Composition - physiology; digestive system; Exercise - physiology; Fecal Microbiota Transplantation - methods; Feces - microbiology; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; gerontology; Humans; intestinal microorganisms; lean body mass; Male; Microbiome; Muscle strength; Muscle Strength - physiology; Muscle, Skeletal - physiology; Physical function; Prevotella; Prevotella - isolation & purification; Prevotella - physiology; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - physiopathology; Aging; Sarcopenia; Muscle strength; Body composition; Physical function; Microbiome
• ISSN: 0531-5565; 1873-6815; 1873-6815
• DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110722

Evidence in support of a gut-muscle axis has been reported in rodents, but studies in older adult humans are limited. Accordingly, the primary goals of the present study were to compare gut microbiome composition in older adults that differed in terms of the percentage of whole body lean mass and physical functioning (high-functioning, HF, n = 18; low-functioning, LF, n = 11), and to evaluate the causative role of the gut microbiome on these variables by transferring fecal samples from older adults into germ-free mice. Family-level Prevotellaceae, genus-level Prevotella and Barnesiella, and the bacterial species Barnesiella intestinihominis were higher in HF older adults at the initial study visit, at a 1-month follow-up visit, in HF human fecal donors, and in HF-colonized mice, when compared with their LF counterparts. Grip strength was significantly increased by 6.4% in HF-, when compared with LF-colonized mice. In contrast, despite significant differences for the percentage of whole body lean mass and physical functioning when comparing the human fecal donors, the percentage of whole body lean mass and treadmill endurance capacity were not different when comparing human microbiome-containing mice. In sum, these data suggest a role for gut bacteria on the maintenance of muscle strength, but argue against a role for gut bacteria on the maintenance of the percentage of whole body lean mass or endurance capacity, findings that collectively add to elucidation of the gut-muscle axis in older adults. •The gut microbiome was compared in high- and low-functioning (HF, LF) older adults.•Fecal transfer from HF and LF older adults into germ-free mice was performed.•Bacteria were identified that differed between HF and LF older adult humans.•Similar bacterial differences were identified for HF-and LF-colonized mice.•Grip strength was higher in HF-, when compared with LF-colonized mice.