Biofilm and its implication in aging via « cold inflammation »
Patrizia d’Alessio, MD PhD
Introduction
Inflammation is characterized by rubor, tumor, calor, dolor and loss of function. Chronic “silent” inflammation promotes accelerated cell senescence speeding up aging. Still, some forms of inflammation even lack fever and sometimes pain, in a new type we propose to name “cold inflammation”.
Biofilms are a form of habitat of microorganisms nesting bacterial cells within a polymeric matrix. Their development is initiated by environmental signals or by bacterial cells themselves.
Material and methods
The monoterpen, d-Limonene, shown to display a sustained anti-inflammatory activity in pre-clinical and clinical studies, was tested for its ability to modify the gut microbiome and act on monolayers of colonic epithelial cells H29/B6 mimicking the intestinal barrier.
Results
d-Limonene induced a decrease of serum IL-6 in healthy aging humans as well as in pre-clinical models of colitis and dermatitis in rodents. In the Ristomed study probiotic supplementation tended to increase the ratio of Clostridium/Bifidobacteria in patients with low baseline inflammation and to decrease it in patients with baseline mild or high inflammation. Supplementation with d-Limonene has the reverse effect, acting on the microbiome and concomitantly on the barrier function of the gut epithelium.
Conclusions
In the gut, immune tolerance is nested in the biofilm, also a potential source of long-lasting asymptomatic chronic inflammation based on re-routing the immune system by the microflora. This microbiome imbalance impairing immune function precedes a dissemination of the inflammatory reaction to other organs. Major age-associated ailments could thus relate to the crucial point were imbalance of the microbiome favors a “leaky-gut”.
Patrizia d’Alessio, MD PhD
Introduction
Inflammation is characterized by rubor, tumor, calor, dolor and loss of function. Chronic “silent” inflammation promotes accelerated cell senescence speeding up aging. Still, some forms of inflammation even lack fever and sometimes pain, in a new type we propose to name “cold inflammation”.
Biofilms are a form of habitat of microorganisms nesting bacterial cells within a polymeric matrix. Their development is initiated by environmental signals or by bacterial cells themselves.
Material and methods
The monoterpen, d-Limonene, shown to display a sustained anti-inflammatory activity in pre-clinical and clinical studies, was tested for its ability to modify the gut microbiome and act on monolayers of colonic epithelial cells H29/B6 mimicking the intestinal barrier.
Results
d-Limonene induced a decrease of serum IL-6 in healthy aging humans as well as in pre-clinical models of colitis and dermatitis in rodents. In the Ristomed study probiotic supplementation tended to increase the ratio of Clostridium/Bifidobacteria in patients with low baseline inflammation and to decrease it in patients with baseline mild or high inflammation. Supplementation with d-Limonene has the reverse effect, acting on the microbiome and concomitantly on the barrier function of the gut epithelium.
Conclusions
In the gut, immune tolerance is nested in the biofilm, also a potential source of long-lasting asymptomatic chronic inflammation based on re-routing the immune system by the microflora. This microbiome imbalance impairing immune function precedes a dissemination of the inflammatory reaction to other organs. Major age-associated ailments could thus relate to the crucial point were imbalance of the microbiome favors a “leaky-gut”.
