Sirtuins and Mitophagy in Aging

A number of approaches that improve mitochondrial function to produce benefits in aging mice, while comparing poorly with exercise as an intervention in humans, appear to work by improving mitophagy. That includes mitochondrially targeted antioxidants such as mitoQ, approaches to NAD+ upregulation such as nicotinamide riboside, and so forth. Mitophagy is the quality control process that identifies worn and damaged mitochondria, and moves them to a lysosome for recycling. Every cell contains hundreds of mitochondria, responsible for generating chemical energy store molecules to power cellular operations. Dysfunctional mitophagy leads to an accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria. A loss of efficiency in mitophagy occurs with age, and thus there is interest in the scientific community in producing ways to improve this situation. So far, however, the practical outcome of such research has been underwhelming, sirtuins included. Since sirtuins were found to extend the lifespan of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans, the mechanism of sirtuin lifespan extension and whether it can extend the lifespan of other species has been actively studied. With increasing research in the last 5 years, sirtuins are increasingly recognized as being critical for regulating mitophagy and maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis. Taken together, the sirtuin family can activate or inhibit mitophagy through multiple pathways, for instance deacetylation of PGC-1α and FOXO1/FOXO3...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs