Apigenin Improves Healthspan and Protects Against Alzheimer's Disease-Associated Proteotoxicity in C. elegans
Apigenin is an abundant, bioactive phytochemical with reported therapeutic potential and neuroprotective effects in a variety of age-related disease models. However, the extent to which apigenin may promote healthspan and protect against neurodegeneration-associated proteotoxicity has not been thoroughly investigated, and the biological processes/mechanisms that underlie its protective effects…
A recent study has found that apigenin, a naturally occurring plant compound, may help extend healthspan and protect against Alzheimer's disease-related proteotoxicity in worms. Researchers conducted lifespan assays and various healthspan measurements on wild-type C. elegans, with positive results showing that chronic exposure to apigenin increased median lifespan and improved multiple healthspan indicators, such as pharyngeal pumping, locomotor activity, and age-related macromolecular damage accumulation.
Further investigations into transgenic reporter strains and RNA-seq analysis revealed that apigenin primarily works by modulating redox-sensitive stress signaling and cellular homeostasis-related pathways in aging organisms. The researchers then tested apigenin's effects on transgenic C. elegans strains expressing Alzheimer's disease-associated proteins, amyloid-beta or tau.
Similar beneficial outcomes were observed, including extended lifespan, improved healthspan, and reduced proteotoxicity-associated functional impairments in these Alzheimer's disease models.
Taken together, the findings suggest that apigenin could be a promising intervention to promote healthspan, particularly through the reduction of oxidative stress-related signaling. These results provide valuable insights into the potential mechanisms behind apigenin's protective effects and may pave the way for future research into its therapeutic applications in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
Written by urgent.news from bioRxiv's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
