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Compounds that Confer Thermal Stress Resistance and Extended Lifespan

Michael G. Benedetti, Amanda L. Foster, Maithili C. Vantipalli, Mark P. White, J. Sampayo, M. Gill, A. Olsen, G. Lithgow

Experimental Gerontology, 2008

107 citations

Abstract

The observation that long-lived and relatively healthy animals can be obtained by simple genetic manipulation prompts the search for chemical compounds that have similar effects. Since aging is the most important risk factor for many socially and economically important diseases, the discovery of a wide range of chemical modulators of aging in model organisms could prompt new strategies for attacking age-related disease such as diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders (Collins et al., 2006; Floyd, 2006; Gill, 2006; Hefti and Bales, 2006). Resistance to multiple types of stress is a common trait in long-lived genetic variants of a number of species; therefore we have tested compounds that act as stress response mimetics. We have focused on compounds with antioxidant properties and identified those that confer thermal stress resistance in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Some of these compounds (lipoic acid, propyl gallate, trolox and taxifolin) also extend the normal lifespan of this simple invertebrate, consistent with the general model that enhanced stress resistance slows aging.

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