Age-associated remodeling of the intestinal epithelial barrier.
Disorders of the gastrointestinal tract are common in the elderly people; however, the precise trait(s) of aging that contribute to the vulnerability of the gastrointestinal tract are poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that patients with gastrointestinal disorders have increased intestinal permeability. Here, we address the hypothesis that disruption of the intestinal barrier is associated with aging. Our results demonstrated that permeability was significantly higher in colonic biopsies collected from old baboons compared with young baboons. Additionally, colonic tissue from the older animals had decreased zonula occluden-1, occludin, and junctional adhesion molecule-A tight junction protein expression and increased claudin-2 expression. Upregulation of miR-29a and inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-1β was also found in colonic biopsies from old baboons relative to young baboons. These results show for the first time that a pivotal contributing factor to geriatric vulnerability to gastrointestinal dysfunction may be increased colonic permeability via age-associated remodeling of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins.
['Tran|Lee|L|', 'Greenwood-Van Meerveld|Beverley|B|']
D000375:Aging D000818:Animals D003106:Colon D016207:Cytokines D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases D005974:Glutamate-Ammonia Ligase D006801:Humans D007413:Intestinal Mucosa D035683:MicroRNAs D048530:Papio anubis D010539:Permeability D009195:Peroxidase D012307:Risk Factors D062725:Tight Junction Proteins
Aging Permeability Tight junctions Cytokines MicroRNA