Study shows how red wine compound slows aging By Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters A compound found in red wine, fruits and vegetables can help slow aging by making two anti-aging genes work together better, scientists in Hong Kong report. While they were working in mice, they hope their findings can shed light on efforts to slow aging in people. Their finding, published in the December issue of Cell Metabolism, builds on their work in 2005 that shed light on premature aging, or progeria, a rare genetic disease that affects one in four million babies. Kids with progeria start to develop symptoms before they turn a year old. Although their mental faculties are normal, they stop growing, lose body fat and suffer from wrinkled skin and hair loss. Like old people, they have stiff joints and a buildup of plaque in arteries that can lead to heart disease and stroke. Most die before they are 20 years old. The team at the University of Hong Kong found in 2005 that a mutation in the gene for Lamin A protein, which lines the nucleus in human cells, disrupted the repair process in cells, causing accelerated aging in mice. In their latest work using both mice and experiments in lab dishes, they found that normal and healthy Lamin A activates the gene SIRT1, which experts have long associated with longevity. "We can develop drugs that mimic Lamin A or increase the binding between Lamin A and SIRT1," Liu Baohua, research assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Hong Kong, told a news conference on Thursday. The team went further to see if Lamin A and SIRTI could work together better if boosted with resveratrol, a compound found in the skin of red grapes and other fruits that some scientists and companies suggest can help slow aging. "It has been under hot debate whether resveratrol directly activates SIRT1," they wrote in their report. Associate professor Zhou Zhongjun, who led the study, said healthy mice fed with concentrated resveratrol lived longer than healthy mice not given the compound."We actually delayed the onset of aging and extended the healthy lifespan," Zhou said. Mice with progeria lived 30 percent longer when fed with resveratrol compared with mutant mice not given the compound. Asked if their study supported the notion that drinking red wine delays aging and reduces the risk of heart disease, Zhou said the alcohol content in wine would cause harm before any benefit could be derived."The amount of resveratrol in red wine is very low and it may not be beneficial. But the alcohol will cause damage to the body," Zhou said.
刺激蛋白質與長壽基因運作 葡萄皮物質有助抗衰老 (2012年12月21日)【am730訊】人體衰老可衍生各類退化疾病，科學家一直研究抗衰老之法，香港大學的研究人員利用6年時間研究，發現體內一種蛋白質可刺激長壽基因，同時亦發現一種存在於葡萄皮層的物質，有助加強該蛋白質及長壽基因的互助作用，增加幹細胞數量，有助延緩衰老，甚至可治療兒童早老症。港大生物化學系研究人員於05年發現，若人體內一種蛋白質Lamin A出現變異，便會引致早老症，該學系副教授周中軍表示，早老症患者的衰老速度是常人的5至10倍，患者在出生半年內出現過早老化的症狀，如生長發育遲緩、身材矮小、脫髮、關節僵硬和骨質疏鬆，平均壽命只有13歲，九成患者最終會因冠狀動脈和腦血管硬化死亡。 為進一步破解抗衰老的機制，該學系利用6年時間，利用早老症的小鼠進行研究，結果發現，Lamin A出現異變，形成早老素(Progerin)，當早老素堆積，便會影響一種長壽基因SIRT1的不穩定，從而加速老化，故證明了Lamin A是SIRT1的啟動劑。有關研究成果已在國際權威學期刊《細胞代謝》(Cell Metabolism)發表。 另外，研究人員亦測試了一種在葡萄皮層的物質「白藜蘆醇」，如何影響幹細胞及早老。研究證實，當早老小鼠進食「白藜蘆醇」後，其SIRT1及Lamin A的相互作用加強，從而提高SIRT1的活性，增加幹細胞數量，顯著延緩了衰老症狀的出現，小鼠健康狀況得以改善，其壽命更延長了30%。
紅酒含量極少 坊間不少人認為飲紅酒可以抗衰老，該學系助理教授(研究)劉寶華直言，葡萄皮層、藍莓、花生等確實含有「白藜蘆醇」，但含量極少，曾有研究指每日飲幾百支紅酒才能真正達到抗衰老之效，而葡萄皮可能含有農藥，故飲用或進食要適可而止。 周中軍補充，研究成果有助日後研發治療早老症的藥物，或延緩正常人的老化速度，減慢糖尿病、高血壓等慢性疾病的出現，降低醫療成本，目前需要進一步在人體進行試驗，期望新藥物可於十年內面世。
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