September 17th, 2004
Sir2 and Aging
I notice this posted at the Anti-Aging Medicine and Science Blog. It's an account of recent discoveries relating to the intersection of Sir2, calorie restriction, metabolism and aging.
The discovery that Sir2p requires NAD for its activity immediately suggested a link between SIR2 activity and caloric restriction. This link was strengthened by the observation that life span extension by caloric restriction requires Sir2 protein. Caloric restriction is likely to reduce the carbon flow through glycolysis and result in more free cytoplasmic NAD. SIR2 could act as a sensor of NAD levels within the nucleus. Under conditions of caloric restriction, NAD levels are high, SIR2 is activated, and the rate of aging is decreased.
Scientists are in the middle of a good old fashioned research story here - the outcome is likely to have a strong positive impact on our future health and longevity. In the meanwhile, you should certainly investigate calorie restriction if you haven't already done so.
Interesting observations...but the whole story is not in yet. Calorie extension...how does it affect, REALLY, telomere length? And, can we really extend telomere length in a BENEFICIAL way...without increasing our risks for mutational changes and hence, malignant neoplasia? forget all the high profile hype of Geron Corp.!
Douglas S. Shearer, Ph.D., M.D.
The answer is simple, it is know that every time a cell divide itself its telomere is reduced, also is known that the cell reproduce when they get certain size, and the cell grow with food. The more food the bigger the grow the faster the cell division the shorter the telomere.