Investigating the human anellome across the lifespan reveals sex-specific biphasic trajectories
摘要
Anelloviruses dominate the human plasma virome, yet their lifespan dynamics and relationships with the immune system are unclear. We integrated metagenomics with cytokines, HERV-K, and CMV profiling across 405 individuals (0–100 years) and found that prevalence, abundance, and diversity varied non-linearly with age and by sex. Alphatorqueviruses accumulated progressively with age, while betatorqueviruses and gammatorqueviruses displayed biphasic, female-specific patterns. Alphatorquevirus species diversity had significant inflection points at ages 54–58 years in females. We identified a stable core of 12 age-uniform species, with their abundance trajectories diverging significantly by sex. Male bias in anellovirus metrics widened with age, and community dispersion reversed across lifespan. CMV IgG titers correlated significantly with anellovirus genus richness. In young adult females, anellovirus ORF1 was associated with IL-1β. These findings suggest altered anellovirus ecology as a correlate of age-related immune changes, positioning these viruses as strong indicators of immune status and offering new perspectives on age-modulated host-virus dynamics.