The microbiome plays a crucial role in human aging, through the gastrointestinal system. However, the microbial impact on the skin is still unclear. For example, cellular senescence is an intrinsic aging process is been recently described to be associated with microbial imbalance. Aging makes cells senescent in response to stress, provoking them to undergo irreversible growth arrest while maintaining high metabolic activity. 

An accumulation of senescent cells has been correlated with various aging and chronic pathologies because of overexpression of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) incorporating proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, proteases, lipids and extracellular matrix components. Particularly, dermatological disorders may be encouraged by senescence since the skin is a common site of accumulation. The gut microbiota affects cellular senescence and skin disruption via the gut-skin axis and secretion of microbial metabolites. Metabolomics can be employed for identifying and quantifying metabolites involved in senescence. Moreover, novel antisenescent therapeutics is needed due to the poor safety profiles of current pharmaceutical drugs. Probiotics and prebiotics may serve as an effective alternative, viewing the relationship between the microbiome and healthy aging. However, further research on gut composition under a senescent status is required to design immunomodulatory therapies.

Source: Boyajian JL, Ghebretatios M, Schaly S, et al. Microbiome and human aging: probiotic and prebiotic potentials in longevity, skin health and cellular senescence. Nutrients. 2021;13(12):4550.