Protein That Slows Aging May Protect Against Diabetes

Much easier to not eat a high-fat diet than it is for the sick care system to develop more invasive treatments (if ever).

A new MIT study has found that a protein that slows aging in mice and other animals also helps fight against the damages of a high-fat diet, including diabetes.

Over a decade ago, SIRT1's longevity-boosting properties were discovered by MIT biology professor Leonard Guarente, who has continued to examine its role in various body tissues. His recent study, appearing August 8th in the journal Cell Metabolism, observed what happens when the SIRT1 protein is missing from adipose cells, which make up body fat.

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.

Guarente, the Novartis Professor of Biology at MIT, explained: "We see them as being poised for metabolic dysfunction. You've removed one of the safeguards against metabolic decline, so if you now give them the trigger of a high-fat diet, they're much more sensitive than the normal mouse."

This finding suggests that drugs that enhance SIRT1 activity could possibly help fight against obesity-linked diseases.

But they won't and they will have side effects.