Forging the microbiome to help us live long and prosper.

Aging is often accompanied by an increased risk of an array of diseases spanning the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems, among others. Despite remarkable progress in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in aging, the role of the microbiome remains understudied. In th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rachel R Rock, Peter J Turnbaugh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-04-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002087
Description
Summary:Aging is often accompanied by an increased risk of an array of diseases spanning the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems, among others. Despite remarkable progress in understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in aging, the role of the microbiome remains understudied. In this Essay, we highlight recent progress towards understanding if and how the microbiome contributes to aging and age-associated diseases. Furthermore, we discuss the need to consider sexually dimorphic phenotypes in the context of aging and the microbiome. We also highlight the broad implications for this emerging area of interdisciplinary research to address long-standing questions about host-microbiome interactions across the life span.
ISSN:1544-9173
1545-7885