Methionine ameliorates intestinal injury in senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 mice by reducing sulfate-reducing bacteria and enhancing barrier function

This research investigates the impact of varying dietary methionine levels on intestinal integrity and gut microbiota in aging mice, utilizing the SAMP8 mouse model specifically. The study involved three dietary groups: a methionine-restricted group, a normal group, and a methionine-supplemented group, with SAMP1 mice serving as the control group. Key parameters evaluated included intestinal barrier function, colon tissue integrity, tight junction protein expression, and inflammatory signaling pathways, assessed through ELISA, histology, immunofluorescence, and Western blot techniques. Findings indicate that a methionine-supplemented diet significantly mitigated intestinal aging, evidenced by decreased cellular senescence markers, reduced serum levels of LPS, IFABP, and zonulin, restoration of colon structure, and enhanced expression of tight junction proteins. Furthermore, the methionine-supplemented diet downregulated the pro-inflammatory pathway, leading to diminished intestinal hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) production. The supplementation also positively altered gut microbiota composition, increasing beneficial genera such as Parabacteroides while decreasing harmful H₂S-producing bacteria like norank_f__Desulfovibrionaceae. Conversely, a methionine-restricted diet exacerbated gut microbiota imbalance and barrier dysfunction. The study concludes that dietary methionine supplementation within safe limits significantly alleviates aging-related intestinal barrier dysfunction by modulating gut microbiota and restoring intestinal sulfation, suggesting a microbiota-sulfation axis that enhances the metabolism of toxic sulfur compounds. Methionine supplementation is proposed as a viable nutritional strategy for promoting intestinal health and mitigating aging-associated pathological changes. [NPID: Tight junction, microbiota, colon, methionine, intestinal integrity, gut barrier]

Year: 2025

Reference: Wu, Y., Zhang, Y., Zhou, M., Liu, P., Rao, X., Zhang, Y., & Mi, M. (2025). Methionine ameliorates intestinal injury in senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 mice by reducing sulfate-reducing bacteria and enhancing barrier function. Frontiers in Nutrition, 12, 1698518. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1698518

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