{"id":7505,"date":"2016-05-06T06:14:46","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T06:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kurzweilai.net\/?p=279063"},"modified":"2016-05-09T06:15:06","modified_gmt":"2016-05-09T06:15:06","slug":"this-vitamin-stops-the-aging-process-in-organs-say-swiss-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2016\/05\/06\/this-vitamin-stops-the-aging-process-in-organs-say-swiss-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"This vitamin stops the aging process in organs, say Swiss researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Improved muscle stem cell numbers and muscle function in NR-treated aged mice: Newly regenerated muscle fibers 7 days after muscle damage in aged mice (left: control group; right: fed NR). (Scale bar = 50 \u03bcm). (credit: Hongbo Zhang et al.\/Science)<\/p><\/div>\n

EPFL<\/a> researchers have restored the ability of mice organs to regenerate and extend life by simply administering nicotinamide riboside<\/a> (NR) to them.<\/p>\n

NR has been shown in previous studies to be effective in boosting metabolism and\u00a0treating a number of degenerative diseases. Now, an article by\u00a0PhD student Hongbo Zhang<\/a> published in\u00a0Science<\/em> also describes the restorative effects of NR on the functioning of stem cells for regenerating organs.<\/p>\n

As in all mammals, as mice age, the regenerative capacity of certain organs (such as the liver and kidneys) and muscles (including the heart) diminishes. Their ability to repair them following an injury is also affected. This leads to many of the disorders typical of aging.<\/p>\n

Mitochondria —>\u00a0stem cells —> organs
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

To understand how the regeneration process deteriorates with age, Zhang teamed up with colleagues from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and universities in Canada and Brazil. By using several biomarkers, they were able to identify the molecular chain that regulates how mitochondria — the \u201cpowerhouse\u201d of the cell — function and how they change with age. “We were able to show for the first time that their ability to function properly was important for stem cells,\u201d said Auwerx.<\/p>\n

Under normal conditions, these stem cells, reacting to signals sent by the body, regenerate damaged organs by producing new specific cells. At least in young bodies. \u201cWe demonstrated that fatigue in stem cells was one of the main causes of poor regeneration or even degeneration in certain tissues or organs,\u201d said Zhang.<\/p>\n

How to revitalize stem cells<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which is why the researchers wanted to \u201crevitalize\u201d stem cells in the muscles of elderly mice. And they did so by precisely targeting the molecules that help the mitochondria to function properly. \u201cWe gave nicotinamide riboside to 2-year-old mice, which is an advanced age for them,\u201d said Zhang.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis substance, which is close to vitamin B3, is a precursor of NAD+<\/sup>, a molecule that plays a key role in mitochondrial activity. And our results are extremely promising: muscular regeneration is much better in mice that received NR, and they lived longer than the mice that didn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parallel studies have revealed a comparable effect on stem cells of the brain and skin. \u201cThis work could have very important implications in the field of regenerative medicine,\u201d said Auwerx. This work on the aging process also has potential for treating diseases that can affect — and be fatal — in young people, like muscular dystrophy (myopathy).<\/p>\n

So far, no negative side effects have been observed following the use of NR, even at high doses. But while it appears to boost the functioning of all cells, it could include pathological ones, so further in-depth studies are required.<\/p>\n

\n

Abstract of\u00a0NAD+<\/sup> repletion improves mitochondrial and stem cell function and enhances life span in mice<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adult stem cells (SCs) are essential for tissue maintenance and regeneration yet are susceptible to senescence during aging. We demonstrate the importance of the amount of the oxidized form of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+<\/sup>) and its impact on mitochondrial activity as a pivotal switch to modulate muscle SC (MuSC) senescence. Treatment with the NAD+<\/sup> precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) induced the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt<\/sup>) and synthesis of prohibitin proteins, and this rejuvenated MuSCs in aged mice. NR also prevented MuSC senescence in the Mdx mouse model of muscular dystrophy. We furthermore demonstrate that NR delays senescence of neural SCs (NSCs) and melanocyte SCs (McSCs), and increased mouse lifespan. Strategies that conserve cellular NAD+<\/sup> may reprogram dysfunctional SCs and improve lifespan in mammals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPFL researchers have restored the ability of mice organs to regenerate and extend life by simply administering nicotinamide riboside (NR) to them. NR has been shown in previous studies to be effective in boosting metabolism and treating a number of degenerative diseases. Now, an article by PhD student Hongbo Zhang published in Science also describes the restorative effects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biomedlongevity","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7506,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7505\/revisions\/7506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}