This study found that resveratrol (found in red wine and other sources) preserves muscle fibers as we age and helps protect connections between neurons called synapses from the negative effects of aging.
“We all slow down as we get older,” said Gregorio Valdez, an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. “Gait, balance issues, and impaired motor coordination contribute to health problems, accidents, lack of mobility, and a lower quality of life. We work on identifying molecular changes that slow down motor deficits that occur with aging. I believe that we are getting closer to tapping into mechanisms to slow age-induced degeneration of neuronal circuits.”
The catch?
Valdez said people would not get the massive neuroprotective benefits seen in mice by drinking wine because of the relatively low resveratrol content.
“In wine, resveratrol is in such small amounts you could not drink enough of it in your life to have the benefits we found in mice given resveratrol,” Valdez said. “These studies are in mice and I would caution anyone from blasting their bodies with resveratrol in any form. The next step is to identify the mechanism that enables resveratrol to protect synapses. If we know the mechanism, we can modify resveratrol or look for other molecules that are more effective at protecting the synapses.”
Abstract
Resveratrol and metformin have been shown to mimic some aspects of caloric restriction and exercise. However, it remains unknown if these molecules also slow age-related synaptic degeneration, as previously shown for caloric restriction and exercise.
In this study, we examined the structural integrity of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in 2-year-old mice treated with resveratrol and metformin starting at 1 year of age. We found that resveratrol significantly slows aging of NMJs in the extensor digitorum longus muscle of 2-year-old mice.
Resveratrol also preserved the morphology of muscle fibers in old mice. Although metformin slowed the rate of muscle fiber aging, it did not significantly affect aging of NMJs. Based on these findings, we sought to determine if resveratrol directly affects NMJs.
For this, we examined postsynaptic sites, the NMJ region located on the muscle peripheral membrane, on cultured myotubes derived from C2C12 cells. We discovered that resveratrol increases the number of postsynaptic sites on myotubes exhibiting a youthful architecture, suggesting that resveratrol directly affects the NMJ.
Altogether, we provide compelling evidence indicating that resveratrol slows aging of NMJs and muscle fibers.