GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers studying dietary restriction in fruit flies report identifying a specific protein that appears to mediate the link between reduced food intake and extended lifespan. The finding, described in a new study, points to a molecular mechanism that may help explain how caloric restriction slows aging in this model organism.
Researchers using Drosophila melanogaster generated a new fly line, Lsp2-muGFP, via CRISPR-Cas9 to track the storage protein Lsp2, alongside RNAi knockdown lines targeting Lsp2 and related genes. The experiments used tissue-specific and stage-specific gene drivers to study how larval nutrition influences protein translation and lifespan in adult flies.
Researchers studying Drosophila found that mutating the Lsp2 gene altered translation of TOP mRNAs, particularly those encoding ribosomal proteins, and changed ribosomal subunit ratios and lifespan compared to control flies. They further showed that removing the translational repressor 4E-BP (Thor) shifted how dietary protein levels affect lifespan, without changing mTORC1 activity or overall protein synthesis rates, indicating a specific rather than general translational effect.
Researchers at UC Berkeley gave 20-month-old female mice daily low-dose subcutaneous semaglutide, the active ingredient in drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, and compared them with saline-treated and calorie-restricted counterparts. Over months of treatment, the semaglutide group showed slowed markers of aging and, in a full lifespan cohort of about 80 mice, longer survival than untreated controls.