The restriction of proteins has recently emerged as the most important factor for the beneficial effects of calorie restriction. Hine et al. now provide strong evidence for the role of the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas in the protective effects of calorie and protein restriction against ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) but also implicate H2S in longevity extension in model organisms.

Mammalian alveoli, complex architectural and cellular units with dimensions that are linked to the organism's O2 consumption (VO2), are thought to be destroyed only by disease and not to spontaneously regenerate. Calorie restriction of adult mammals lowers VO2, and ad libitum refeeding returns VO2 to pre-calorie-restriction values. We took advantage of these relationships and tested the hypothe...

Calorie restriction extends life-span in a wide variety of organisms. Although it has been suggested that calorie restriction may work by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species produced during respiration, the mechanism by which this regimen slows aging is uncertain. Here, we mimicked calorie restriction in yeast by physiological or genetic means and showed a substantial extension in li...

Calorie restriction is known to extend lifespan among organisms by a debating mechanism underlying nitric oxide-driven mitochondrial biogenesis. We report here that nitric oxide generators including artemisinin, sodium nitroprusside, and L-arginine mimics calorie restriction and resembles hydrogen peroxide to initiate the nitric oxide signaling cascades and elicit the global antioxidative respo...

Calorie Restriction (CR) is a defined intervention tool currently being studied as an effort to achieve numerous health benefits and increase longevity. Currently, there is a large body of research that indicates a multitude of health benefits and positive associations; however, there is also a plethora of opposing research. Through investigation of epigenetics, the efficacy of calorie restrict...

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Obesity results in reduced serum testosterone levels, which causes many disorders in men. Lifestyle modifications (increased physical activity and calorie restriction) can increase serum testosterone levels. However, it is unknown whether increased physical activity or calorie restriction during lifestyle modifications has a greater effects on...

Calorie restriction increases life span in many organisms, including the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. From a large-scale analysis of 564 single-gene-deletion strains of yeast, we identified 10 gene deletions that increase replicative life span. Six of these correspond to genes encoding components of the nutrient-responsive TOR and Sch9 pathways. Calorie restriction of tor1D or sch9D ...

Background The octanoylated peptide ghrelin stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion during severe calorie restriction in mice, which preserves fasting blood sugar after body fat has been depleted. Genetic deletion of ghrelin-O-acyltransferase (GOAT, which octanoylates ghrelin) renders mice ghrelin-deficient and abrogates the normal rise in GH after several days of calorie restriction, resultin...

Immune senescence is a natural consequence of aging and may contribute to frailty and loss of homeostasis in later life. Calorie restriction increases healthy life-span in C57BL/6J (but not DBA/2J) mice, but whether this is related to preservation of immune function, and how it interacts with aging, is unclear. We compared phenotypic and functional characteristics of natural killer (NK) cells a...

We investigated dietary modulation, by energy level and energy source, of two-stage skin tumorigenesis initiated with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate in SENCAR mice. Studies comparing the influence of dietary calorie restriction (feeding less carbohydrate and less fat) with diet restriction and with ad libitum control feeding indicated an in...