Scientists mapped the aging small intestine at single-cell resolution in primates and discovered that levels of a protein called NCoR1 drop consistently with age — both in primates and humans. This decline was linked to hallmark aging problems: leaky gut barrier, chronic inflammation, and a shift in intestinal stem cells away from producing absorptive cells. When researchers knocked down NCoR1 in human intestinal tissue and organoids, these exact aging features appeared. Restoring NCoR1 reversed them. Most strikingly, metformin — a widely used diabetes drug with known anti-aging properties — was shown to restore NCoR1 levels and slow intestinal aging in nonhuman primates. The findings position NCoR1 as a central molecular switch governing gut aging and suggest metformin may protect intestinal health through this specific pathway.
