The first international mini-symposium on methionine restriction and lifespan

Abstract

It has been 20 years since the Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science, under the leadership Dr. Norman Orentreich, first reported that low methionine (Met) ingestion by rats extends lifespan (Orentreich et al., 1993). Since then, several studies have replicated the effects of dietary methionine restricted (MR) in delaying age-related diseases (Richie et al., 1994; Miller et al., 2005; Ables et al., 2012; Sanchez-Roman and Barja, 2013). We report the abstracts from the First International Mini-Symposium on Methionine Restriction and Lifespan held in Tarrytown, NY, September 2013. The goals were (1) to gather researchers with an interest in MR and lifespan, (2) to exchange knowledge, (3) to generate ideas for future investigations, and (4) to strengthen relationships within this community. The presentations highlighted the importance of research on cysteine, growth hormone (GH), and ATF4 in the paradigm of aging. In addition, the effects of dietary restriction or MR in the kidneys, liver, bones, and the adipose tissue were discussed. The symposium also emphasized the value of other species, e.g., the naked mole rat, Brandt's bat, and Drosophila, in aging research. Overall, the symposium consolidated scientists with similar research interests and provided opportunities to conduct future collaborative studies (Figure 3).

Keywords: aging and longevity; animal models; lifespan; methionine restriction.

FIGURE 1

Total weight gain broken down into lean mass gain (white) and fat mass gain (black) in mice after 2 weeks on a high-fat diet, with or without a drug that lowers plasma total cysteine (Drug X). The cysteine lowering drug halved fat mass gain without compromising lean mass. **P < 0.001.

FIGURE 2

MR randomized controlled crossover feeding study design.

FIGURE 3

Assembled participants of the First International Mini-Symposium on Methionine Restriction and Lifespan (Tarrytown, NY, USA, September 8–10, 2013). Sitting in the front row (L–R): Jay Zimmerman (Moderator), Nancy P. Durr, Norman Orentreich, David S. Orentreich, George Roth (Keynote Speaker), Bernardita Calinao. Standing 1st row (L–R): Gene P. Ables, Ines Augie, Virginia Malloy, Herb Burack, Blanka Rogina, Martha H. Stipanuk, Rochelle Buffenstein, Amany K. Elshorbagy, John P. Richie. Standing 2nd row (L–R): Tsang-hai Huang, Amadou Ouattara, Jason Plummer, Franz Perrodin, James R. Mitchell, Joel Brind, Dwight Mattocks, Christopher D. Church. Last row (L–R): Vadim N. Gladyshev, Boris Krasnikov, Arthur Cooper (Moderator), Holly M. Brown-Borg, and Richard A. Miller.