Protein That Slows Aging May Protect Against Diabetes

Protein That Slows Aging May Protect Against Diabetes

The research team put mice on a high-fat diet and realized that they started to develop metabolic disorders, like diabetes, when they lacked the protein, while normal mice given the same diet did not develop these disorders as quickly.

While the expert studied yeast in the 1990s, he first discovered the effects of SIRT1 and other sirtuin proteins. These proteins have since shown to help keep cells alive and healthy by coordinating a variety of hormonal networks, regulatory proteins, and other genes.

These results suggest that the development of metabolic disorders is a two-step process in normal mice. He said, "This first step is inactivation of SIRT1 by the high-fat diet, and the second step is all the bad things that follow that."

As normal mice grew older, the researchers discovered that they became more susceptible to the effects of a high-fat diet than younger mice, showing that the protective effects of SIRT disappear as they age. Knowing that inflammation increases with age, Guarente is now researching if age-related inflammation also provokes SIRT1 loss.