de Medina P. Deciphering the metabolic secret of longevity through the analysis of metabolic response to stress on long-lived species.
Med Hypotheses 2018;
122:62-67. [PMID:
30593426 DOI:
10.1016/j.mehy.2018.10.019]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Revised: 09/30/2018] [Accepted: 10/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Despite intensive research, no satisfactory therapeutic options have been found for aging and age-related diseases. The British scientist Leslie Orgel stated that evolution is cleverer than we are. This assumption seems correct considering that some species are naturally able to resist the age-related diseases that remain unsolved by our modern medicine. Indeed, bowhead whales can live for more than two hundred years and are suspected to possess efficient antitumor mechanisms. Naked mole-rats are exceptionally long-lived compared to similar-sized mammals and are protected from senescence and age-related diseases. Consequently, the characterization of protective molecular mechanisms in long-lived species (i.e. bowhead whale, naked mole-rat, microbat) could be of great interest for therapeutic applications in human. Cellular stress response is considered to be an anti-aging process dedicated to the prevention of damage accumulation and the maintenance of homeostasis. Interestingly, cellular stress response in plants and animals involves the production of health-promoting metabolites such as resveratrol, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and spermidine. Do anti-aging metabolites formed during stress exposure differ between human and extreme longevity species in terms of their nature, their quantity or their production? These questions remain unsolved and deserve to be considered. Indeed, the mimicking of anti-aging strategies selected throughout evolution in long-lived species could be of high therapeutic value for humans. This paper suggests that metabolomic studies on extreme longevity species cells exposed to mild stressors may lead to the characterization of health-promoting metabolites. If confirmed, this would provide new avenues of research for the development of innovative anti-aging strategies for humans.
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