Gut-derived metabolic reprogramming drives immune aging and tissue degeneration
Aging is characterized by changes in gut microbiome, metabolic imbalance and chronic inflammation, yet how these processes integrate to drive tissue degeneration remains poorly defined. Using age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as a model of tissue aging, we identify a diet-induced metabolic-immune axis that promotes systemic and retinal degeneration. In mice, a high-fat, cholesterol-enriched (HFC) diet induced perturbations in the gut structural integrity and microbiome repertoire, as well as systemic metabolic aging signatures, prominently marked by reduced circulating histidine. Plasma histidine levels were similarly decreased in AMD patients and inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI) in control donors. These diet-induced gut microbiome changes and subsequent metabolic alterations promoted peripheral innate immune reprogramming, with expansion of inflammatory neutrophils and monocytes that infiltrated the outer retina in a mouse model. Mechanistically, the gut-derived IGF1R/AKT2 signaling acts as a central regulator of global epigenetic remodeling and systemic immune aging under high-fat conditions in C. elegans. In a mouse model with an age-dependent dry AMD-like pathology, distinct retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) subpopulations exhibited downregulation of the histidine transporter SLC7A5, linking metabolic stress to activation of MIF/CD74-dependent inflammatory signaling between RPE and infiltrating immune cells. Histidine supplementation or AKT2 phospho-state modulation attenuated systemic immune activation and rescued retinal degeneration. These findings identify histidine-axis dysregulation as a mechanistic bridge between diet-induced microbiome changes, metabolic stress, immune aging, and retinal degeneration.