Resveratrol and life extension: new data

New data obtained by researchers at Harvard University, working under the guidance of Professor David Sinclair, confirm the hypothesis that the ingredient of red wine resveratrol increases not only the overall life expectancy, but also the duration of a healthy life by stimulating the activity of the energy centers of the cell – mitochondria.

Over the past decade, Professor Sinclair and his colleagues have published a lot of research data indicating that resveratrol increases the efficiency of the process of energy synthesis in cells, and also improves the overall condition of cells by activating the genes of the sirtuin family involved in the functioning of mitochondria.

Sinclair and his group studied the work of sirtuins in the cells of various model organisms: yeast, roundworms, fruit flies and mice. In experiments on the first three organisms, they managed to completely inactivate the SIRT1 gene and demonstrate that in the absence of this gene, cells do not respond to resveratrol. However, until now they have not been able to reproduce this effect in mice, since animals that do not have a functional SIRT1 gene died immediately after birth.

It took three years to create a mouse model in which the activity of the SIRT1 gene is blocked in all cells of the body when exposed to the drug tamoxifen.

Experiments on such animals have shown that under normal conditions, low doses of resveratrol significantly increased the efficiency of energy synthesis in their cells, and after blocking SIRT1 with tamoxifen, resveratrol had no effect on mitochondrial function.

This refutes the alternative hypothesis that resveratrol exerts its positive effect by stimulating a separate energy mechanism mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase. This mechanism also regulates the mitochondria, but is in no way related to the genes encoding proteins of the sirtuin family.

The authors demonstrated that when exposed to low doses of resveratrol in mice with the SIRT1 gene blocked, no activation of the mechanism mediated by AMP-activated protein kinase was observed at all. With a significant increase in the dose of resveratrol, this mechanism was activated, which, however, did not affect the efficiency of the mitochondria in any way.

Professor Sinclair notes that a significant increase in the dosage of resveratrol, like any drug, can lead to various unforeseen consequences.

However, the results of the work showed that in order to increase the efficiency of mitochondria, SIRT1 should be involved in any case, which is obviously the main target of any doses of resveratrol.

Article by Nathan L. Price et al. SIRT1 Is Required for AMPK Activation and the Beneficial Effects of Resveratrol on Mitochondrial Function is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on materials from Harvard Medical School:
More evidence for Longevity Pathway.

03.05.2012