What this means
Aging-induced endothelial dysfunction is a core driver of age-related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In 20-month-old naturally aged mice, 12-week soybean polysaccharide (SP) supplementation restored endothelium-dependent relaxation, reduced aortic reactive oxygen species and VCAM-1 in the aortic endothelium, and attenuated colon senescence, improved gut barrier integrity, and reduced systemic inflammation, as shown by decreased serum LPS, IL-1β, TNF-α, and fecal and serum TMA/TMAO levels.
A plain-English summary is on its way. Until then, this is the start of the authors' own summary.
- Who it was tested in
- People
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- PPARγ/P21 Signaling Mediates Butyrate-Driven Protection against Aging-Related Endothelial Dysfunction: A Novel Effect of Soybean Polysaccharide via the Gut-Vascular Axis.
- Authors
- Zhang Q, Zhou Z, Yeung HW et al.
- Journal
- Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
- Published
- Oct 28, 2026
- Study type
- Study · in humans
- PMID
- 42949332 ↗
Abstract
Aging-induced endothelial dysfunction is a core driver of age-related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In 20-month-old naturally aged mice, 12-week soybean polysaccharide (SP) supplementation restored endothelium-dependent relaxation, reduced aortic reactive oxygen species and VCAM-1 in the aortic endothelium, and attenuated colon senescence, improved gut barrier integrity, and reduced systemic inflammation, as shown by decreased serum LPS, IL-1β, TNF-α, and fecal and serum TMA/TMAO levels. SP enriched butyrate-producing gut bacteria, including Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, and increased gut and serum butyrate, consistent with enhanced microbial short-chain fatty acid biosynthesis capacity predicted by PICRUSt2. Direct butyrate supplementation reproduced these vascular and colonic benefits. It activated PPARγ signaling and downregulated p21, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and p16, whereas PPARα and PPARδ remained unchanged. These findings support a gut microbiota-butyrate-PPARγ/p21 axis through which SP protects against aging-related endothelial dysfunction, providing a nutritional basis for targeting the gut-vascular axis in cardiovascular aging.
Zhang Q, Zhou Z, Yeung HW et al. PPARγ/P21 Signaling Mediates Butyrate-Driven Protection against Aging-Related Endothelial Dysfunction: A Novel Effect of Soybean Polysaccharide via the Gut-Vascular Axis. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 2026. doi:10.1021/acs.jafc.6c10019. PMID: 42949332. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42949332/