Metformin's miracle reappears: giving primates' organs a "youthful coat"

Metformin can be said to be a star candidate for longevity in recent years. The latest Cell research shows that metformin can promote the rejuvenation of organs and tissues throughout the body of primates, crab-eating macaques, especially the brain. It can delay brain aging by 6 years and improve memory and cognitive abilities.

The research was conducted by Liu Guanghui's team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who are also the top team in the field of longevity in China. Let's talk about this research today.

01What are the characteristics of the research subjects?

This research object has several characteristics:

1. Primates: Macaca fascicularis

Non-human primates are the organisms that are closest to humans. They have many similar traits and are more reference-like to humans, which is difficult for other model organisms to achieve.

2. Age of cynomolgus macaques

Crab-eating macaques are 13-16 years old. The average lifespan of macaques is between 20 and 30 years old, so this age is roughly equivalent to around 50-60 years old for humans, which is a stage when aging is more obviously observable.

3. Research duration: 40 months

This time period is long enough for research, 40 months, more than 3 years, which is equivalent to 10 years for humans.

02How was the experiment conducted?

After the research subjects were selected, the next step was to conduct the experiment. According to the weight of the crab-eating macaques, the metformin dose was 20 mg/kg, which is also the dose used in clinical treatment of diabetes. Then the monkeys were given a physical examination every 3 months to monitor their condition.

At the same time, 68 indicators of crab-eating macaques were studied, such as the nervous system, immune system, respiratory system, cardiovascular system, fat system, etc., of course, including cognitive ability, learning ability and memory. For comparison, it is roughly equivalent to reducing brain aging by about 6 years.

The results showed that the thickness of the frontal and temporal cortex of crab-eating macaques taking metformin increased significantly, which is a protection against brain decline.

The protection of neurons is achieved through Nrf2, a transcription factor with antioxidant capacity

The same applies to other tissues, such as liver, kidney, heart, skin and many other tissues and structures. They tested some aging indicators in these parts, such as p21 (aging-related protein, cyclin-dependent kinases CDKs complex activity), and found that there were fewer p21-positive cells in these parts, and other factors such as tissue fibrosis and lipid peroxide accumulation were also reduced.

The entire study confirmed the effects of metformin on delaying age-related phenotypes at the organism level through physiological, imaging, histological and molecular assessments. It is a very comprehensive and systematic study.

03What is the significance of this research?

It can be said that this study fills the gap in the anti-aging effect of metformin in primates and demonstrates the following viewpoints:

Metformin prevents brain atrophy and improves cognitive function in elderly male primates

2 Metformin slows aging in various tissues of male primates

Metformin fights neuronal aging and provides anti-aging protection in male primates via Nrf2

Note: Currently, metformin is suitable for people with diabetes. Research on longevity in the population is still in progress, and it is not recommended for ordinary people to take it directly!