A current examine from Penn State College could shed extra mild on the hyperlink between telomeres, growing older, and why caloric restriction seems to affect them.
Telomeres are linked to growing older
Telomeres are small protecting caps on the ends of our chromosomes that guard our DNA. Telomere attrition, through which these caps slowly erode, is a trademark of growing older. The shortening of telomeres limits the quantity of cell divisions, in the end inflicting a decline in cell numbers in organs and tissues.
Shortened telomeres are linked to a number of age-related illnesses and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. For that purpose, telomeres, and their size and charge of loss, have lengthy been a biomarker of growing older.
They’re additionally a possible goal for therapies that restore misplaced telomere size, and some corporations are engaged on this method. If profitable, it might be doable to cut back the dangers of a number of age-related illnesses related to quick telomeres.
Investigating how caloric restriction impacts telomeres
Right now, we wish to spotlight additional knowledge coming from the CALERIE medical trial that would assist us perceive why caloric restriction may increase lifespan [1].
Final yr, we wrote about how caloric restriction may slow down human aging with outcomes from the CALERIE medical trial. These outcomes prompt that caloric restriction does have a useful impact on longevity. Nevertheless, the examine additionally raised numerous questions and had limitations that we mentioned in that article.
This time, the scientists examined the telomere lengths of 175 people concerned within the CALERIE examine. Measurements have been taken at first, one yr in, and on the finish of the 24-month examine interval, throughout which two-thirds of contributors adopted a caloric restriction routine and one-third served as a management group.
The researchers famous that throughout the course of the examine, the speed of telomere loss modified. Within the first yr, the contributors on caloric restriction misplaced weight and noticed elevated telomere loss. The next yr noticed weight reduction stabilized for these on caloric restriction. Within the second yr, nevertheless, the researchers discovered that telomere loss slowed down in comparison with the management group.
After the 2 yr mark, each the take a look at and management teams’ charge of loss was related. There was no statistical distinction between the 2 teams at this level.
The outcomes are unclear
The researchers had initially hypothesized that there could be a discount in telomere loss within the calorically restricted group; nevertheless, this was not the case. In truth, the speed of telomere attrition did the other and elevated within the first yr earlier than stabilizing.
This examine raises extra questions than it solutions. What would occur if the information for a 3rd yr was checked; would the telomere loss charge change once more? Would that knowledge change once more in a fourth yr of caloric restriction? Lastly, why did the speed of loss initially pace up when the expectation was for it to decelerate?
That is one other demonstration that the dynamics of telomere loss are advanced and never effectively understood. The examine contributors are due for one more check-in on the 10-year mark, so it will likely be fairly some time but earlier than we’ll know extra.
That mentioned, some knowledge means that caloric restriction could assist scale back ldl cholesterol and blood stress ranges, so it might nonetheless be worthwhile to do it. If you wish to discover out extra, try our matter on fasting and time-restricted feeding.
Literature
[1] Hastings, W. J., Ye, Q., Wolf, S. E., Ryan, C. P., Das, S. Ok., Huffman, Ok. M., … & Shalev, I. (2024). Effect of long‐term caloric restriction on telomere length in healthy adults: CALERIE™ 2 trial analysis. Ageing cell, e14149.
