longevity tagged posts

Schematic overview of the endogenous regulators and molecular targets of SIRT3.

Exercise and fasting do not change the location of a key enzyme involved in energy production, a study in Experimental Physiology found. SIRT3 is an important enzyme involved in fat metabolism and energy production. Located within the mitochondria of skeletal muscle, it targets certain proteins and altering their activity.

To determine if SIRT3’s location within muscle cells changes, healthy young men were split into two groups with one being subjected to endurance exercise for an hour and the other fasting for 48 hours. The researchers then took skeletal muscle biopsies at various time points post exercise and fasting and isolated the mitochondria...

Salk researchers uncover a fasting molecule, Crtc, which enhances immunity. The gastrointestinal tract of flies lacking Crtc, which is turned on during fasting (right panel), expresses more immune-related molecules compared with those of normal flies (left panel). These signs of inflammation mean that the gut barrier is compromised and more permeable to bacteria. Credit: Salk Institute

A molecular pathway activated in the brain during fasting helps halt the spread of GI bacteria into the bloodstream, according to a new study researchers at the Salk Institute. A molecular pathway by which the brain communicates with the GIT prevents unnecessary activation of the immune system during fasting by strengthening the barrier against gut microbes...

Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top

Closer adherence to Japanese dietary guidelines is associated with a lower risk of death from all causes and death from cardiovascular disease, particularly stroke, finds a study published by The BMJ today. The findings suggest that balanced consumption of grains, vegetables, fruits and adequate intake of fish and meat, can contribute to longevity in the Japanese population.

In 2005, the Japanese government developed the spinning top – a Japanese food guide – to illustrate the balance and quantity of food in the daily Japanese diet. A team of researchers, led by Kayo Kurotani at the National Centre for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo, set out to examine the association between adherence to the food guide and total and cause specific mortality.

They used...

Using Drosophila (the fruit fly) as a model organism, the research team had identified a single nucleotide mutation in the mitochondrial DNA sequence which encodes one of the core energy producing genes.

“This mutation made males sterile but remarkably the ill effects were observed only in males; females who harbour this mutation maintain their fertility. This very same mutation that causes male infertility results in them living longer than flies that don’t have this mutation. However, while remaining fertile, females that carry this mutation have shorter lives,” Ms Camus said.
Co-author Dr Ted Morrow, University of Sussex, said that this mutation is not the only one located within the mitochondria to affect longevity.

Human mitochondrial DNA.

Dr Damian Dowling suggested the study repres...