Aspirin Positively Contributes to <i>Drosophila</i> Intestinal Homeostasis and Delays Aging through Targeting Imd

Abstract

The intestine, a high-turnover tissue, plays a critical role in regulating aging and health in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Maintaining the epithelial barrier function of the intestine by preserving innate immune homeostasis significantly delays aging and prevents mortality. In an effort to explore effective chemicals and materials that can improve intestinal integrity, we performed a nonbiased screen utilizing <i>Drosophila</i> as an animal model. We showed that long-term uptake of aspirin markedly prevented age-onset gut leakage, the over-proliferation of intestinal stem cells, and the dysbiosis of commensal microbiota in fruit flies. Mechanistically, aspirin efficiently downregulated chronic activation of intestinal immune deficiency signaling during aging. Furthermore, our <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i> biochemical analyses indicated that aspirin is a negative modulator in control of the K63-linked ubiquitination of Imd. Our findings uncover a novel regulatory mechanism by which aspirin positively modulates intestinal homeostasis, thus delaying aging, in <i>Drosophila</i>.