What is SIRT1?

Anti Aging Supplements That Help Retard the Aging Process

By Chris Raimoir

As people strive to look more youthful, the popularity of anti-aging supplements continues to grow. While there are many excellent anti-aging supplement products on the market, there are also some that simply do not deliver what they promise.

Most anti-aging products are designed to retard the aging process by providing key nutrients that support youthful-looking skin. Other products focus on eliminating "free radicals" or toxins in the body. It is widely believed that detoxifying the body can lead to longer, more youthful life.

The available products include, but not limited to anti-aging skin creams, anti-wrinkle creams, botox, anti-oxidants, sirtuins, and cosmetics.

Proxeronine, derived from morinda citrifolia, is a vital biochemical agent that helps maintain strength, endurance, and immunity to aging. Morinda citrifolia is reported to contain up to 40 times more proxeronine than any other food.

What Are The Benefits of Resveratrol?

Author: Ron J. Myers

By now you probably have heard about resveratrol. Based on many reports, resveratrol does seem to be an amazing substance. Many people know that resveratrol has been given as the explanation for the "French Paradox", which is the name given for the fact that the French have very low rates of heart disease, despite the fact that they typically consume a high fat diet. The French consume a lot of red wine, which contains resveratrol. Most scientist think that the resveratrol in red wine has saved the French from high rates of heart disease.

However, other than it being an explanation for the "French Paradox", many people are not aware of all the benefits of resveratrol. Right now, scientist believe their are many other benefits to resveratrol.

To date, the benefits of resveratrol are thought to include improvement in heart health, better resistance against diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, and even protection against many cancers. Some people believe that resveratrol can help with weight loss because it causes the secretion of sirtuins. Sirtuins are a type of protein that metabolizes fat. Perhaps the biggest benefit of resveratrol is that it may slow down the aging process. Preliminary research suggest that resveratrol causes an effect similar to a calorie restricted diet. Prior research has shown that calorie restricted diets have a tendency to prolong life.

New Research: SiRT1 Regulation As A Potential Metabolic Disease Therapy

Hypothalamic Sirt1 Regulates Food Intake in a Rodent Model System

Sirt1 is an evolutionarily conserved NAD⁺ dependent deacetylase involved in a wide range of processes including cellular differentiation, apoptosis, as well as metabolism, and aging. In this study, we investigated the role of hypothalamic Sirt1 in energy balance. Pharmacological inhibition or siRNA mediated knock down of hypothalamic Sirt1 showed to decrease food intake and body weight gain. Central administration of a specific melanocortin antagonist, SHU9119, reversed the anorectic effect of hypothalamic Sirt1 inhibition, suggesting that Sirt1 regulates food intake through the central melanocortin signaling. We also showed that fasting increases hypothalamic Sirt1 expression and decreases FoxO1 (Forkhead transcription factor) acetylation suggesting that Sirt1 regulates the central melanocortin system in a FoxO1 dependent manner. In addition, hypothalamic Sirt1 showed to regulate S6K signaling such that inhibition of the fasting induced Sirt1 activity results in up-regulation of the S6K pathway. Thus, this is the first study providing a novel role for the hypothalamic Sirt1 in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Given the role of Sirt1 in several peripheral tissues and hypothalamus, potential therapies centered on Sirt1 regulation might provide promising therapies in the treatment of metabolic diseases including obesity.

Citation: Çakir I, Perello M, Lansari O, Messier NJ, Vaslet CA, et al. (2009) Hypothalamic Sirt1 Regulates Food Intake in a Rodent Model System. PLoS ONE 4(12): e8322. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008322

Is Zinc (Zn(2+) Good or Bad For SIRT1 Activity?

J Inorg Biochem. 2009 Oct 29. [Epub ahead of print]

Dual role of Zn(2+) in maintaining structural integrity and suppressing deacetylase activity of SIRT1.

Chen L, Feng Y, Zhou Y, Zhu W, Shen X, Chen K, Jiang H, Liu D.

Department of Molecular Pharmacology, State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 555 Zu-Chong-Zhi Road, Shanghai 201203, China.

Zn(2+) directly participates in catalysis of histone deacetylase (HDAC) Classes I, II, IV enzymes while its role in HDAC Class III activity is not well established. Herein we investigated the effects of Zn(2+) on the deacetylase activity of sirtuin 1 (silent mating type information regulation 2 homolog 1, SIRT1). We found that the inherent Zn(2+) at the zinc-finger motif of SIRT1 is essential for the structural integrity and the deacetylase activity of SIRT1, whereas the exogenous Zn(2+) strongly inhibits the deacetylase activity with an IC(50) of 0.82muM for Zn(Gly)(2). SIRT1 activity suppressed by the exogenous Zn(2+) can be fully recovered by the metal chelator EDTA but not by the activator resveratrol. We also identified Zn(2+) as a noncompetitive inhibitor for the substrates of NAD(+) and the acetyl peptide P53-AMC. The 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) fluorescence titration experiments and site-directed mutagenesis study suggested that the exogenous Zn(2+) binds to SIRT1 but not at the zinc-finger motif. These results indicate that Zn(2+) plays a dual role in SIRT1 activity. Inherent Zn(2+) at the zinc-finger motif is structurally related and essential for SIRT1 activity. On the other hand, Zn(2+) may also bind to another site different from the zinc-finger motif or the binding sites for the substrates or resveratrol and act as a potent inhibitor of SIRT1.

PMID: 19923004 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Cellular Anti-Aging: The Core of Staying Young while Ageing!

We talk about resveratrol, sirtuins, an dieting often here. Today we'll focus on anti-aging from a Doctor's perspective.

When it comes to Anti-Aging you hear about being wrinkle free, having no more age lines, and keeping your skin supple and smooth.  Those are more geared to the marketing machines of cosmetology and less about the science of slowing aging from a cellular level.

When it comes to our cells keeping them alive and free of oxidants is a major piece of the puzzle. We also have to understand why we age an how the process of aging takes place over the course of our lives.

Can we stop Aging? Can we live longer an remain healthy doing so? What can we do to encourage the deceleration of aging in our bodies?

The University of California has a TV program called "Health Matters" broacasted on UCTV.  I came across a 30 minute segment they produced on Anti-Aging.  The discussion is with Ron Rothenberg, M.D. a specialist in the science of ageing.

The video is lengthy but well worth viewing. The conversation is basic in it's delivery and easy for the non-scientist to understand.

Anti-Aging Supplements, Buyer Beware!

Looking to buy Anti-Ageing supplements like Resveratrol or Acai Berry? Buyer Beware, Read Below!

If you made it to this site you probably recently heard about either Resveratrol, Calorie Restriction, or Sirtuins.  Either way I am glad you are here!  

Over the past 12 months the attention being placed on Anti-Aging from mainstream media has been incredible.  I couldn't be more happy with this.  However, along with attention comes the opportunity for scrupulous companies trying to persuade you that they have the next "miracle" pill or drink.  Here are a few things to consider before trying the next best anti-aging miracle supplement:

- Does it sound to good to be true?  More times then not marketing plays a big role in the "perceived" quality of a product.  If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.

- Do they list the actual ingredients on the label, or do they lump them all together into a "proprietary" formulation?  Remember, you are ingesting this into your body.  You need to know exactly what it consists of and how much you are taking.

- Where was the product manufactured and was it in accordance with standard FDA procedures?  Please verify where your product is produced.  Is the facility clean, follow proper health practices, and is the facility inspected independently.

Sirtuins, Calorie Restriction, & Resveratrol Hit the Mainstream!

Sirtuins are creating the most recent buzz in mainstream media as Dr. Oz recently mentioned Sirtuins, Calorie Restriction, and Resveratrol on both the Oprah Show and Good Morning America this week.

With big name Doctors willing to support more natural approaches to health it's only a matter of time before we become a healthier, more informed society. There is definitely a place for both traditional medicine and natural medicine to work together. Over the next few years we will begin to see more "Integrative Medical Practices" opening across the country, and even the rest of the world.

The reality is, "Who doesn't want to live longer and be healthy while you do it?"  For a long time anti-aging treatments that focused on cellular health, like telomere lengthening therapies, were only available to the wealthy.  Now as more and more companies dive into this field the costs are beginning to come down and be more realistic for people across the globe.

The Relationship Between Calorie Restiction & Sirtuins Explained!

I thought everyone would enjoy this video which provides a simple explanation as to how Calorie Restriction and Sirtuins are related.  Guests included in this video are Dr. Leonard Guarente, David Sinclair, and Cynthia Kenyon, all of whom are well known in the world of Sirtuin research.

Resveratrol & SiRT1 Take Center Stage: 60 Minutes Reports!

Chances are you've heard about the resveratrol buzz.  However, just in case you missed it, below is the widely talked about 60 Minutes Resveratrol Segment aired on 1-25-2009.  Dr. David Sinclair and Dr. Christoph Westphal of Sirtris Pharmaceuticals explain how resveratrol works to activate Sirtuins, SiRT1 in particular, and how Calorie Restriction is a major component in their research.

SiRT1 Increase Chemotherapy Drug Resistance

A new study completed by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that was published in the September 15th, 2008 issue of Molecular Cancer Research has shown that the increased expression of SiRT1 causes resistance when used with Cisplatin, a chemotherapy drug.

Researchers found the resistance increase as the amount of Cisplatin dosage was increased.  This resistance makes the drug ineffective in its use.  By learning the cause of the resistance factor scientists can research ways to lessen these effects and increase the benefits of chemotherapy using Cisplatin.

A link to the study press release can be found here:

Study Provides Clues about How Cancer Cells Develop Resistance to Chemotherapy Drug

Reference: Liang X, Finkel T, Shen D, Yin J, Aszalos A., and Gottesman MM. SIRT1 Contributes in Part to Cisplatin Resistance in Cancer Cells by Altering Mitochondrial Metabolism. Molecular Cancer Research. September, 15, 2008.