It is well known that the levels of certain key substances in the body drop as people age. New research shows that one such substance, taurine, may be critical to a healthy aging process.
Taurine
Taurine is a nutrient that occurs naturally in the human body and is present in a wide variety of foods. According to this new study, low levels of this nutrient in the body are a driver of aging.
The researchers reported that supplementing with taurine helped to check key aging markers, including DNA damage, weakened mitochondrial function, telomerase deficiency, and cellular senescence.
Their findings were reported in a June 2023 issue of the journal Science. They raise hope that finding a means to increase taurine levels in the body may help people live healthier, longer lives.
Declining metabolites in aging
Certain, often undesirable, changes are observed in an average person as they age, especially from their 30s on. These make people more susceptible to organ failures and diseases while raising the risk of death.
Scientists have been working for years to unravel the underlying mechanism of the aging process. The molecular basis for these changes is not yet fully understood.
However, a major thing that research has revealed is that the concentrations of metabolites and other molecules change with age. But it is not clear if those changes are a consequence of aging or the cause of it.
The metabolite taurine is described as a semi-essential micronutrient. It ranks among the amino acids that are most plentiful in humans and other organisms having a clearly defined nucleus.
Previous research suggests that the levels of taurine in the blood show a relationship with health. It was not clear whether this impacts the aging process, however.
Taurine supplementation as a healthy aging strategy?
In the current study, researchers wanted to bridge the gap on whether blood levels of this nutrient have anything to do with aging.
The team started by looking at the blood concentrations of taurine in mice, monkeys, and people. It found that they declined greatly with age. For instance, levels in 15-year-old monkeys were 85 percent lower than they were in five-year-old monkeys. Concentrations dropped by more than 80 percent in elderly humans, compared to serum levels in younger persons.
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The researchers went on to probe whether the observed declines had anything to do with aging. To do this, they fed middle-aged male and female mice with either taurine or a control solution daily until the end of life. Both treatment and control groups were on the same diet apart from that difference.
They found that the metabolite increased the life spans of both sexes. The average lifespan rose by 10 to 12 percent, and life expectancy increased by 18 to 25 percent at 28 months.
Investigations into the health span or the length of healthy living in the taurine-fed animals returned impressive results as well. Researchers observed better functioning of the brain, pancreas, bone, gut, muscle, and immune system of the treated animals.
Effects similar to those in mice were also found in monkeys. The nutrient also extended the lifespan of multicellular worms. It failed to impact the replicative lifespan of unicellular yeast, however.
Upon further investigations, the research team found that taurine supplementation had positive effects on multiple hallmarks of aging. It reduced DNA damage, checked mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased cellular senescence, lessened inflammation, and guarded against telomerase deficiency.
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The researchers posit that their findings show taurine deficiency is an aging factor in mice, worms, and monkeys. This suggests that both life and health spans may be improved through supplementation.
The study also seems to add to the knowledge of how exercise may help fight aging. Researchers found that it increased blood taurine concentrations.
Long-term and properly controlled trials are needed to confirm if taurine deficiency is also a driver of aging in humans, the research team stated.
References
Singh, P., Gollapalli, K., Mangiola, S., Schranner, D., …, Yadav, V. K., et al. (2023). Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging. Science, 380(6649). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn9257
