A protein called sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) regulates several important cellular pathways, including glucose metabolism, inflammation and DNA repair. So it has an important role, potentially, in promoting healthy aging and longevity. But can it be harnessed for actual therapeutic applications?
This article at Longevity Technology will give you a very useful summary of where things stand, from the point of view of an American-Israeli startup, SIRTLab. Bottom line: the research has already produced exciting results with mice, and the company hopes to start human trials this year.
SIRT6 is one of a group of proteins called sirtuins, found in all living organisms, that regulate cellular processes. Its influence helps explain a phenomenon that goes all the way back to 1935, when scientists first discovered that calorie reduction extended the lifespan of rats by a third. But how? Why?
The article quotes SIRTLab co-founder and CEO Boaz Misholi: ““At the time, the researchers were shocked because there was no scientific explanation for this phenomenon. That led to a huge amount of interest and further research, but it wasn’t until about 60 years later that two Harvard researchers, David Sinclair and Haim Cohen, discovered that the effect of calorie restriction was mediated by sirtuins.”
Prof. Cohen continued his research work at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and went on to become another co-founder of SirtLab. His work is further explained by Misholi:
“He discovered that SIRT6 mediates many facets of calorie restriction to improve metabolism and extend healthy lifespan in animal models. By generating mice with over expression of SIRT6, he demonstrated average lifespan extension of 30%, and positive impacts on frailty.”
There were also significant improvements is dealing with age-related diseases like cancer and blood disorders, and the older mice could conduct the same level of vigorous activity as younger mice. SIRT6 also improved memory and cognitive function.
But could these results be translated to humans? “SIRTLab believes that SIRT6 expression has a good chance of delivering on its promising results in mice.”
Misholi: “We have developed four different ways to therapeutically target SIRT6 production: messenger RNA (mRNA), small molecules, adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), and antagonists for micro-RNAs that control SIRT6 levels. There are different benefits to each approach, and it’s even possible that a treatment could use a combination of two or more. We’ve seen in our experiments that our mRNA therapeutic boosts cellular levels of SIRT6 by 20 times, which is very exciting.”
The therapeutic possibilities and implications are also very exciting. “Take osteoporosis, for example,” says Misholi. “We believe that an injection of our technology to the affected area will impact the inflammation there. If you look at inflammation of the pancreas, for example, there’s no drug, there’s no solution for that. We believe that if we increase the level of SIRT6 in the pancreas, it may reverse the inflammation there. And there is also a lot of work showing a connection between SIRT6 and Alzheimer’s.”
The next step is to target specific indications, and get FDA approval for human trials for those indications. The company hopes this can happen in 2024.
Yet another very promising topic for us to track!
We should also note that some diets have been developed to enable you to boost sirtuins through the foods you eat (or don’t eat). Here’s a good summary of the pros and cons of The Sirtfood Diet. Where the diet ties in with weight loss, and with specific daily eating regimens, it has been controversial, with criticisms that include over-promising (lose 7 pounds in 7 days) and being questionable, if not dangerous, for people with eating disorders to a history of stop-and-start dieting.
On the other hand, as a guide to sirtuin-rich foods, the list can be helpful:
- Recommended drinks are green tea or green shakes, red wine, coffee and tea.
- Soys, legumes, tofu and beans are recommended. Meats, while not banned outright, should be eaten only in moderation.
- Grains, particularly buckwheat, are recommended.
- Healthy fats are recommended, including nuts, olive oil, and fatty fish.
No-no’s are processed foods and added sugars.
Most of these items can be found in other recommended diets, like many “Mediterranean”-style programs. As long as you don’t treat this as a “quick and easy” fix, there’s nothing wrong with taking a closer look.