Scientists discovered life-extending mixture of bacteria and viruses

The search for the secrets of longevity makes scientists look into different corners of the human body. So Danish researchers tried to find the secret of life in the intestines and got quite strong results.

The Mail Online edition wrote about the research of scientists of Copenhagen University. They studied 176 healthy long-livers in Japan - a country where 100-year-olds are not uncommon - and found a certain pattern in what combination of bacteria and viruses populate their guts.

"We are always striving to find out why some people live very long lives. Preliminary research has shown that the gut bacteria of older Japanese people produce entirely new molecules that make them resistant to pathogens, that is, pathogens. And if their intestines are better protected against infections, this is probably one of the reasons why they live longer than others," explained Joachim Johansen, the lead author of the paper.

According to his team's study, the presence of certain viruses in the gut can benefit the entire gut microbiome and therefore improve human health in general. Although the composition of the microbiome is genetically regulated to a certain extent, adjustments can be made to it. In particular, to introduce the mixture discovered by researchers.

To draw their conclusions, scientists developed an algorithm to map the intestinal bacteria and bacterial viruses of long-livers. The results were compared with similar data from a group of adults between the ages of 18 and 60.

As a result, the team was able to find a high biodiversity of both bacteria and bacterial viruses specifically in long-livers. "High microbial diversity is usually associated with a healthy gut microbiome. And we expect people with a healthy gut microbiome to be better protected against diseases associated with aging," Johansen said.

He said the results of the study could be used to increase the longevity of other people because of a change in their microbiome toward an optimal microbiome. Balancing the combination of gut bacteria and viruses should help keep people from getting sick.

Scientists also explained that they noticed how viruses that settled in gut bacteria actually enhanced them. "The viruses found in healthy Japanese long-livers contained additional genes that could stimulate bacterial growth. We learned that they could increase the transformation of certain molecules in the gut, which could serve to stabilize gut flora and counteract inflammation," Johansen shared the results.

Specifically, his team found that long-livers showed a higher metabolic release of microbial hydrogen sulfide. And this may maintain the integrity of the mucosa not only of the intestine, but of the entire gastrointestinal tract, starting with the mouth, and its resistance to pathobionts, pathogens that arise in the gut.

Previously OBOZREVATEL told about a plague pathogen 4000 years old, whose DNA was discovered by scientists. And why it may be very important.

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