September 17, 2021
Keio University School of Medicine
RIKEN
A joint research team has discovered that stool samples from Japanese centenarians contain elevated levels of a bile acid called isoallo-lithocholic acid (isoalloLCA) and has identified intestinal bacterial species that can produce this bile acid. The team was led by Professor Kenya Honda of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Keio University School of Medicine, who also serves as Team Leader for the Laboratory for Gut Homeostasis at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences. The team also found that isoalloLCA was capable of exerting potent antimicrobial effects against gram-positive multidrug-resistant pathogens.
These findings provide a basis for developing a way to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans and may help unlock the secret of healthy longevity.
The results of this research were published in the online edition of the international journalNatureon July 30, 2021 (Japan Standard Time).
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