The earlier calorie intake is reduced, the greater the effect. Researchers have now identified one of the enzymes that hold the key to the ageing process.
Restricted Calorie Intake Can Slow Ageing Process
The researchers revealed that reduced calorie intake slows down ageing by preventing an enzyme, peroxiredoxin, from being inactivated. This enzyme is also extremely important in counteracting damage to our genetic material.
By gradually reducing the intake of sugar and proteins, without reducing vitamins and minerals, researchers have previously shown that monkeys can live several years longer than expected. The method has also been tested on everything from fishes and rats to fungi, flies and yeasts with favourable results. Restricted calorie intake also has favourable effects on our health and delays the development of age-related diseases. Despite this, researchers in the field have found it difficult to explain exactly how restricted calorie intake produces these favourable effects.
Using yeast cells as a model, the research team at the University of Gothenburg has successfully identified one of the enzymes required. They are able to show that active peroxiredoxin 1, Prx1, an enzyme that breaks down harmful hydrogen peroxide in the cells, is required for restricted calorie intake to work effectively.
The results, which have been published in the scientific journal Molecular Cell, show that Prx1 is damaged during ageing and loses its activity. Restricted calorie intake counteracts this by increasing the production of another enzyme, Srx1, which repairs Prx1. Interestingly, the study also shows that ageing can be delayed without restricted calorie intake by only increasing the quantity of Srx1 in the cell. Repair of the peroxiredoxin Prx1 consequently emerges as a key process in ageing.
“Impaired Prx1 function leads to various types of genetic defects and cancer. Conversely, we can now speculate whether increased repair of Prx1 during ageing can counteract, or at least delay, the development of cancer,” say the researchers.
Peroxiredoxins have also been shown to be capable of preventing proteins from being damaged and aggregating, a process that has been linked to several age-related disorders affecting the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The researchers are accordingly also considering whether stimulation of Prx1 can reduce and delay such disease processes.
Reference for: Restricted Calorie Intake Can Slow Ageing Process
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