Faeces transplants found to reverse signs of ageing process in mice, ‘ground breaking’ study says

Faeces transplants from younger mice to older ones can reverse signs of the ageing process, researchers claim.

British scientists say the experiment resulted in improvements to the gut, eyes and the brain of the animals.

These changes were consistent with reversing the hallmarks of ageing, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia and the Quadram Institute.

In the study, microbes from faeces were moved between young, old and aged mice. The effects on the gut barrier, retina and brain were then analysed.

When younger mice received donations from older ones, the researchers found these parts of the body deteriorated in the same way as during ageing.

They suffered a loss of integrity of the gut lining, which triggers inflammation in the brain and eyes.

Inflammation of the central nervous system was sped up and there was also an elevated number of proteins associated with retinal degeneration.

But when older mice received faecal transplants from younger ones, the opposite can happen.

“We were excited to find that by changing the gut microbiota of elderly individuals, we could rescue indicators of age-associated decline commonly seen in degenerative conditions of the eye and brain,” Dr Aimee Parker, the lead author of the study, said.

“Our results provide more evidence of the important links between microbes in the gut and healthy ageing of tissues and organs around the body.”

The researchers said the study - published in Microbiome journal - showed how aging microbiota in the gut can drive detrimental changes in the brain and retina, suggesting “microbial modulation” could prevent tissue decline.

Professor Simon Carding, the head of the Gut Microbes and Health Research Programme at the Quadram Institute, said the research was “ground-breaking” and “offers a potential solution in the form of gut microbe replacement therapy”.

Dr Parker from the Quadram Institute said: “We hope that our findings will contribute ultimately to understanding how we can manipulate our diet and our gut bacteria to maximise good health in later life.”

It is not the first time a study has suggested faecal transplants could improve the signs of ageing. In 2020, researchers found this could cause a decline in spatial learning and memory in younger mice who received microbes from older ones.

Last year, another study found gut bacteria transplant could help to reverse other effects of ageing in mice, namely involving memory and immune impairments.