Cited by 83Gastrointestinal motility and disordersGut microbiota and healthDigestive system and related health

Intestinal barrier function is maintained with aging – a comprehensive study in healthy subjects and irritable bowel syndrome patients

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Wilms, Ellen, Troost, Freddy J., Elizalde, Montserrat, Winkens, Bjorn, de Vos, Paul, Mujagic, Zlatan, Jonkers, Daisy M. A. E., Masclee, Ad A. M.·2020·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Animal studies have shown that intestinal barrier function is compromised with aging. We aimed to assess the effects of aging on intestinal barrier function in humans in vivo and ex vivo. In this cross-sectional study, healthy subjects and subjects with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) of older (65–75 years) and young adult age (18–40 years) were compared. In vivo gastrointestinal site-specific permeability was assessed by a multi-sugar test, taking into account potential confounders. Sigmoid biopsies were collected from subgroups of healthy young adults and elderly for ex vivo Ussing chamber experiments, gene transcription of barrier-related genes and staining of junctional proteins. No significant differences between healthy young adults and elderly were found for small intestinal, colonic and whole gut permeability (P ≥ 0.142). In IBS patients, gastroduodenal and colonic permeability did not differ significantly (P ≥ 0.400), but small intestinal and whole gut permeability were higher in elderly versus young adults (P ≤ 0.009), mainly driven by the IBS-diarrhea subtype. Ussing chamber experiments with or without stressor (P ≥ 0.052), and relative expression of intestinal barrier-related genes (P ≥ 0.264) showed no significant differences between healthy elderly and young adults, as confirmed by immunofluorescent stainings. Overall, the functional capacity of the intestinal barrier is maintained in elderly.

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  • Changes in gut microbiota are more closely related with inflammatory processes rather than solely being a consequence of aging.

    “This suggests that the changes in gut microbiota are more closely related with inflammatory processes rather than solely being a consequence of aging (Fig. 3).187,188”

    From Inflammation and aging: signaling pathways and intervention therapies (2023) · cites this paper as [188]

    The Introduction and Discussion address aging, intestinal permeability, and immune activation, but do not compare the relationship of gut-microbiota changes to inflammation versus aging. Searches for microbiota, inflammatory processes, aging, and dysbiosis found no passage in our copy making that comparison. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Wilms, E., Troost, F. J., Elizalde, M., Winkens, B., de Vos, P., Mujagic, Z., Jonkers, D. M. A. E., & Masclee, A. A. M.
Affiliations
Maastricht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Wilms, Ellen
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2020-01-16
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
475-475
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2999101872
Cited by
83
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6
FWCI
8.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Digestive system and related health
Keywords
intestinal barrier function, aging, irritable bowel syndrome, intestinal permeability, Ussing chamber, tight junction proteins, older adults, small intestine, colon
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Aging, Cell Membrane Permeability, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Intestinal Mucosa, Intestine, Small, Male, Middle Aged, Prognosis, Case-Control Studies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Young Adult, Healthy Volunteers

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