METHUSELAHS of the fly world are hinting that the anti-ageing effects of
antioxidants stem from their ability to influence gene expression, and not
simply to mop up toxic chemicals.
A team led by Christine Brack at the University of Basel in Switzerland
showed that fruit flies fed the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) lived 26 per
cent longer than controls. And the more NAC the flies ate, the more messenger
RNA they produced (Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, vol 53, p
960). Messenger RNA is the intermediary between genes and the proteins they
encode.
This suggests that NAC activates genes. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know how far we can
extrapolate these results to humans,鈥� says Brack. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 intriguing.鈥� If the
genes NAC switches on can be identified, they might reveal which proteins are
involved in slowing the ageing process.
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