Insights into Longevity-Extending Protein

A neurotransmitter peptide that plays an important role in food intake, neuropeptide Y (NPY) may also extend lifespan.  Since Researchers from Nagasaki University (Japan),Pusan National University, (Korea), and Chubu University (Korea) observed that dietary restriction did not increase the lifespan of mice devoid of NPY to the same degree that it did in wild mice that had this protein. Dietary restriction also did not have the same protective effect against tumor formation and stress that it did in wild mice.  Conversely, other adaptive processes that are activated during dietary restriction, such as changes in energy metabolism, were not affected by the absence of neuropeptide Y.  Observing that: “These results suggest a key role for [neuropeptide Y] in mediating the effects of [dietary restriction],” the study authors submit that: “We also provide evidence that most of the physiological adaptations to [dietary restriction] could be achieved in mice without [neuropeptide Y].”