For the better part of a century scientists have been aware that one way of extending the lives of animals was by reducing the calories they consumed by 30 to 40%. They, however, did not know the 'why' for it.
Now, a recent study claims to have found the answer and even more- the means by which this prevents cell aging and aged related diseases.
The bio pharmaceutical company Sirtris that concentrates on producing small molecule drugs that can treat diseases associated with aging,along with researchers at Harvard Medical School, Boston, National Institute on Aging, Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, and Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has reported in the journal, Cell, on Thursday, 21st September, that they have discovered a new way to delay aging.
The scientists revealed that stimulating SIRT3 and SIRT4, which are members of the sirtuin family of enzymes, guards against damage of cells. This has established further that sirtuins can be important targets in the treatment of aging associated diseases.
In their experiments they found that when cells are put under stress, such as the case of calories being restricted, the two enzymes take action to protect cells from the diseases of aging.
These enzymes, of which there are seven, have been recently found to be able to encourage the body's natural barricading against disease. Their popularity in the manufacture of drugs can be put down to the fact that they have a specialized function in mitochondrial activity proving beneficial against the diseases of aging.
Mitochondria are the cell chargers, providing energy for the different functions performed by the cells. Earlier observations have implied that they are actively engaged in keeping cells healthy and alive, which is essential in prolonging an organism's life.
It is when the mitochondria weaken and do not function well that the cells start to weaken and grow more susceptible to DNA stress, and eventually die.
With the enzymes coded by SIRT3 and SIRT4 genes the health of the mitochondria are restored thus reinstating cell energy and delaying aging.
Declaring that they didn't expect that the most important “part of this pathway” was in the mitochondria, study co-author and assistant professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School, David Sinclair said, “"We think that we've possibly found regulators of aging."
Christoph Westphal, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals remarked, "These exciting new data further validate sirtuins as attractive targets for drug development to treat diseases of aging. This study identifies SIRT3 and SIRT4 as additional targets, expanding beyond previous work which focused on targeting SIRT1. These findings broaden the potential of Sirtris' drug discovery platform and intellectual property focused on sirtuin modulators to treat a number of diseases of aging such as metabolic, mitochondrial, inflammatory and neurological disorders, and cancer."
He also announced that the company was currently in Phase 1b and Phase 2a clinical trials with their first sirtuin modulator, SRT501. This is a formulation of resveratrol used in activating the enzyme, SIRT1.
He said that SRT501 represented their first clinical stage drug candidate and that they were also developing a portfolio for new SIRT1 activator drug candidates. These are compounds markedly more effective than and structurally different from resveratrol.
