header logo image

Mifepristone Increases Lifespan in Flies and Worms…Can It Improve Longevity in Humans? – MedicalResearch.com

July 11th, 2020 7:46 pm

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

John Gerard TowerProfessor of biological sciencesUniversity of Southern California

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Mifepristone is a synthetic steroid drug that is used in humans for birth control and as a treatment for Cushings disease, and is currently in clinical trials as an anti-cancer treatment.

We have previously shown that mifepristone dramatically increases the life span of mated female Drosophila flies.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: In the present study, we find that mifepristone increases fly life span by altering genes and metabolic pathways that are shared with humans, including interactions with the microbiome.

In addition, we find that mifepristone increases the life span of mated C. elegans worms.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: It is striking how conserved the regulation of life span appears to be across species. The metabolism associated with a long, healthy life in humans is similar to the metabolism associated with a long, healthy life in flies, and this is promoted by mifepristone. The finding that mifepristone can increase life span in species as different as fly and worm suggests the possibility that mifepristone might also be able to increase life span in humans.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

Response: It will be important to identify the exact molecular target of mifepristone in the fly, as this remains unknown, and identifying this target may be useful for designing further anti-aging interventions. It may also be of interest to design human clinical trials to test for possible life span effects of mifepristone.

Nothing to disclose.

Citation:

John Tower, Sean P Curran, Daniel E L Promislow, Jie Shen, Mina Abdelmesieh, Shinwoo Lee, Palak Patel, Jimmy Wu, Tianyi Wang, Jonah Vroegop, Ina Wang, Yang Fan, Lu Wang, Chia-An Yen, Devon V Doherty, Gary N Landis.Metabolic Signatures of Life Span Regulated by Mating, Sex Peptide and Mifepristone/RU486 in Female Drosophila melanogaster.The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2020; DOI:10.1093/gerona/glaa164

We respect your privacy and will never share your details.

The information on MedicalResearch.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.

1

Excerpt from:
Mifepristone Increases Lifespan in Flies and Worms...Can It Improve Longevity in Humans? - MedicalResearch.com

Related Post

Comments are closed.


2024 © StemCell Therapy is proudly powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) Comments (RSS) | Violinesth by Patrick