"Flies and mice benefit from even a brief regimen of rapamycin.
Even a limited course of the anti-ageing compound rapamycin protects gut health in older fruit flies and mice — resulting, at least in the flies, in a longer life.
The immunosuppressant rapamycin can prolong lifespan in a range of species, and can delay the onset of cancer and other age-related illnesses. But long-term use of the drug can have adverse metabolic effects.
Paula Juricic at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing in Cologne, Germany, and her colleagues examined whether short-term rapamycin intake could provide long-term benefits. They found that, in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), a brief period of rapamycin treatment in early adulthood extends lifespan by as much as does lifelong treatment.
Further experiments revealed that giving the insects rapamycin in early adulthood slowed ageing by reducing age-related degradation of the flies’ intestinal cells. It did this by increasing autophagy, a natural process for removing damaged cells. This brief surge in autophagy led to a sustained increase in the process and extended lifespan.
The researchers found similar effects in mice: short-term treatment of young adults with rapamycin curbed damage to the intestines during middle age, suggesting that the benefits of a brief course of rapamycin translate to mammals." [1]
1. Nature 609, 224 (2022)
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