Anti-aging effects of chlorpropamide depend on mitochondrial complex-II and the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species

A Senomorphlytic Three-Drug Combination Discovered in Salsola collina for Delaying Aging Phenotypes and Extending Healthspan

The pursuit of pharmacological interventions in aging aims focuses on maximizing safety and efficacy, prompting an exploration of natural products endowed with inherent medicinal properties. Subsequently, this work establishes a unique library of plant extracts sourced from Yunnan Province, China. Screening of this herbal library herein revealed that Salsola collina (JM10001) notably enhances both lifespan and healthspan in C. elegans. Further analysis via network pharmacology indicates that the p53 signaling pathway plays a crucial role in mediating the anti-aging effects of JM10001. Additionally, this work identifies that a composition, designated as JM10101 and comprising three chemical constituents of JM10001, preserves the original lifespan-extending activity in C. elegans. Both JM10001 and JM10101 mitigate aging symptoms in senescence-accelerated mice treated with doxorubicin and in naturally aged mice. Notably, JM10101 exhibits a more sophisticated senomorphlytic role encompassing both senomorphic and senolytic functions than JM10001 in the modulation of senescent cells, offering a promising strategy for the discovery of combination drugs in the rational development of anti-aging therapies.

Repurposing effect of cardiovascular-metabolic drug to increase lifespan: a systematic review of animal studies and current clinical trial progress

With the increase in life expectancy, aging has emerged as a significant health concern. Due to its various mechanisms of action, cardiometabolic drugs are often repurposed for other indications, including aging. This systematic review analyzed and highlighted the repositioning potential of cardiometabolic drugs to increase lifespan as an aging parameter in animal studies and supplemented by information from current clinical trial registries. Systematic searching in animal studies was performed based on PICO: "animal," "cardiometabolic drug," and "lifespan." All clinical trial registries were also searched from the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP). Analysis of 49 animal trials and 10 clinical trial registries show that various cardiovascular and metabolic drugs have the potential to target lifespan. Metformin, acarbose, and aspirin are the three most studied drugs in animal trials. Aspirin and acarbose are the promising ones, whereas metformin exhibits various results. In clinical trial registries, metformin, omega-3 fatty acid, acarbose, and atorvastatin are currently cardiometabolic drugs that are repurposed to target aging. Published clinical trial results show great potential for omega-3 and metformin in healthspan. Systematic Review Registration: crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=457358, identifier: CRD42023457358.

Myricanol prevents aging-related sarcopenia by rescuing mitochondrial dysfunction via targeting peroxiredoxin 5

Aging is a process that represents the accumulation of changes in organism overtime. In biological level, accumulations of molecular and cellular damage in aging lead to an increasing risk of diseases like sarcopenia. Sarcopenia reduces mobility, leads to fall-related injuries, and diminishes life quality. Thus, it is meaningful to find out novel therapeutic strategies for sarcopenia intervention that may help the elderly maintain their functional ability. Oxidative damage-induced dysfunctional mitochondria are considered as a culprit of muscle wasting during aging. Herein, we aimed to demonstrate whether myricanol (MY) protects aged mice against muscle wasting through alleviating oxidative damage in mitochondria and identify the direct protein target and its underlying mechanism. We discovered that MY protects aged mice against the loss of muscle mass and strength through scavenging reactive oxygen species accumulation to rebuild the redox homeostasis. Taking advantage of biophysical assays, peroxiredoxin 5 was discovered and validated as the direct target of MY. Through activating peroxiredoxin 5, MY reduced reactive oxygen species accumulation and damaged mitochondrial DNA in C2C12 myotubes. Our findings provide an insight for therapy against sarcopenia through alleviating oxidative damage-induced dysfunctional mitochondria by targeting peroxiredoxin 5, which may contribute an insight for healthy aging.

Sorafenib extends the lifespan of C. elegans through mitochondrial uncoupling mechanism

Sorafenib is a targeted anticancer drug in clinic. Low-dose sorafenib has been reported to activate AMPK through inducing mitochondrial uncoupling without detectable toxicities. AMPK activation has been the approach for extending lifespan, therefore, we investigated the effect of sorafenib on lifespan and physical activity of C. elegans and the underlying mechanisms. In the present study, we found that the effect of sorafenib on C. elegans lifespan was typically hermetic. Sorafenib treatment at higher concentrations (100 μM) was toxic but at lower concentrations (1, 2.5, 5 μM) was beneficial to C. elegans. Sorafenib (1 μM) treatment for whole-life period extended C. elegans lifespan and improved C. elegans physical activity as manifested by increasing pharyngeal pumping and body movement, preserving intestinal barrier integrity, muscle fibers organization and mitochondrial morphology. In addition, sorafenib (1 μM) treatment enhanced C. elegans stress resistance. Sorafenib activated AMPK through inducing mitochondrial uncoupling in C. elegans. Sorafenib treatment activated DAF-16, SKN-1, and increased SOD-3, HSP-16.2, GST-4 expression in C. elegans. Sorafenib treatment induced AMPK-dependent autophagy in C. elegans. We conclude that low-dose sorafenib protects C. elegans against aging through activating AMPK/DAF-16 dependent anti-oxidant pathways and stimulating autophagy responses. Low-dose sorafenib could be a strategy for treating aging and aging-related diseases.

Targeting the blood-brain barrier to delay aging-accompanied neurological diseases by modulating gut microbiota, circadian rhythms, and their interplays

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment plays a crucial role in the pathological processes of aging-accompanied neurological diseases (AAND). Meanwhile, circadian rhythms disruption and gut microbiota dysbiosis are associated with increased morbidity of neurological diseases in the accelerated aging population. Importantly, circadian rhythms disruption and gut microbiota dysbiosis are also known to induce the generation of toxic metabolites and pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in disruption of BBB integrity. Collectively, this provides a new perspective for exploring the relationship among circadian rhythms, gut microbes, and the BBB in aging-accompanied neurological diseases. In this review, we focus on recent advances in the interplay between circadian rhythm disturbances and gut microbiota dysbiosis, and their potential roles in the BBB disruption that occurs in AAND. Based on existing literature, we discuss and propose potential mechanisms underlying BBB damage induced by dysregulated circadian rhythms and gut microbiota, which would serve as the basis for developing potential interventions to protect the BBB in the aging population through targeting the BBB by exploiting its links with gut microbiota and circadian rhythms for treating AAND.

Nicandra physalodes Extract Exerts Antiaging Effects in Multiple Models and Extends the Lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans via DAF-16 and HSF-1

The development of safe and effective therapeutic interventions is an important issue for delaying aging and reducing the risk of aging-related diseases. Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of aging and other complex diseases are desired due to their multiple components and targets. Through screening for effects on lifespan of 836 Chinese herbal medicine extracts, Nicandra physalodes extract (HL0285) was found to exhibit lifespan extension activity in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). In further experiments, HL0285 improved healthspan, enhanced stress resistance, and delayed the progression of neurodegenerative diseases in C. elegans. Additionally, it ameliorated senescence in human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cells) and reversed liver function damage and reduced senescence marker levels in doxorubicin- (Dox-) induced aging mice. In addition, the longevity effect of HL0285 in C. elegans was dependent on the DAF-16 and HSF-1 signaling pathways, as demonstrated by the results of the mutant lifespan, gene level, and GFP level assays. In summary, we discovered that HL0285 had an antiaging effect in C. elegans, MRC-5 cells, and Dox-induced aging mice and deserves to be explored in the future studies on antiaging agents.

One-Pot Synthesis of Thio-Augmented Sulfonylureas via a Modified Bunte's Reaction

We report the development of a one-pot Bunte's reaction-enabled expeditious platform under aqueous conditions for the scalable conversion of sulfonylureas to synthetically versatile thio-sulfonylureas. The reaction was further propagated in the same pot to yield diverse chiral and achiral isothiosulfonyl analogs. The protocol enabled the synthesis of various drug-like molecules and was applied to an enantiomeric synthesis of a cannabinoid receptor antagonist SLV326.

Crotamiton derivative JM03 extends lifespan and improves oxidative and hypertonic stress resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans via inhibiting OSM-9

While screening our in-house 1072 marketed drugs for their ability to extend the lifespan using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as an animal model, crotamiton (N-ethyl-o-crotonotoluidide) showed anti-aging activity and was selected for further structural optimization. After replacing the ortho-methyl of crotamiton with ortho-fluoro, crotamiton derivative JM03 was obtained and showed better activity in terms of lifespan-extension and stress resistance than crotamiton. It was further explored that JM03 extended the lifespan of C. elegans through osmotic avoidance abnormal-9 (OSM-9). Besides, JM03 improves the ability of nematode to resist oxidative stress and hypertonic stress through OSM-9, but not osm-9/capsaicin receptor related-2 (OCR-2). Then the inhibition of OSM-9 by JM03 reduces the aggregation of Q35 in C. elegans via upregulating the genes associated with proteostasis. SKN-1 signaling was also found to be activated after JM03 treatment, which might contribute to proteostasis, stress resistance and lifespan extension. In summary, this study explored a new small molecule derived from crotamiton, which has efficient anti-oxidative, anti-hypertonic, and anti-aging effects, and could further lead to promising application prospects.

Cucurbitacin B-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest of conjunctival melanoma cells mediated by GRP78–FOXM1–KIF20A pathway

Conjunctival melanoma (CM) is a rare and fatal malignant eye tumor. In this study, we deciphered a novel anti-CM mechanism of a natural tetracyclic compound named as cucurbitacin B (CuB). We found that CuB remarkably inhibited the proliferation of CM cells including CM-AS16, CRMM1, CRMM2 and CM2005.1, without toxicity to normal cells. CuB can also induce CM cells G2/M cell cycle arrest. RNA-seq screening identified KIF20A, a key downstream effector of FOXM1 pathway, was abolished by CuB treatment. Further target identification by activity-based protein profiling chemoproteomic approach revealed that GRP78 is a potential target of CuB. Several lines of evidence demonstrated that CuB interacted with GRP78 and bound with a K_d value of 0.11 μmol/L. Furthermore, ATPase activity evaluation showed that CuB suppressed GRP78 both in human recombinant GRP78 protein and cellular lysates. Knockdown of the GRP78 gene significantly induced the downregulation of FOXM1 and related pathway proteins including KIF20A, underlying an interesting therapeutic perspective. Finally, CuB significantly inhibited tumor progression in NCG mice without causing obvious side effects in vivo. Taken together, our current work proved that GRP78–FOXM1–KIF20A as a promising pathway for CM therapy, and the traditional medicine CuB as a candidate drug to hinder this pathway.