Big Peer-Reviewed Study in Nature Reveals the Importance of Red Blood Cell Resilience to Extend Longevity
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Well timed with International Longevity Month, a big longevity study funded by Calico (which shares parent company Alphabet with Google) was released last week, showing that resilient red blood cells can meaningfully extend mammalian longevity.
This research, published in the journal Nature, sought to understand how dietary restriction reliably increases longevity in animals. Specifically, this team studied changes in 1,000 genetically diverse mice that had restricted daily calorie diets (by 20% or 40% compared to baseline controls) or intermittent fasting throughout their lives. In addition to assessing lifespan, they also evaluated body weight and routine clinical blood indices.
Surprisingly, this study found that weight loss and improved glucose control, which occurred among dietary-restricted and intermittently fasted mice, were not predictors of longer life. Instead, one of the most significant positive influencers of lifespan was lower red blood cell distribution width (also called RDW), which is a measurement of the variability of red blood cell size.
Paired with the study's observed higher red blood cells, hemoglobin, and lower reticulocytes, these data show that more stable and resilient red blood cells influenced longevity. Impressively, this longevity-extending benefit was present in relatively young mice and was sustained throughout most of their life. This supports that gaining red blood cell resilience, even at a relatively early age (equal to our mid-20s in humans), can support extended longevity.
"While our earlier studies helping older dolphins showed that red blood cell resilience is a biomarker of slower aging rate, we were excited to see this latest study in Nature showing that stabilizing and strengthening red blood cells throughout life also translates to extended longevity," said Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson, a veterinary epidemiologist, co-founder and co-CEO of Seraphina Therapeutics. "More importantly, multiple studies have shown that pure C15:0, an essential fatty acid, significantly strengthens red blood cells. This is yet another encouraging benefit of pure C15:0 - not only to improve red blood cell health, but to slow biological aging and support longevity."
After Dr. Venn-Watson's initial discovery of C15:0 (also called pentadecanoic acid, an odd-chain saturated fatty acid), as an active and beneficial nutrient that supports healthy aging in long-lived mammals, she and others around the world have spent the past decade studying C15:0, the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in over 90 years. She and her Navy physician husband, Dr. Eric Venn-Watson, co-founded Seraphina Therapeutics and were funded by the Office of Naval Research to develop fatty15, a pure and bioavailable C15:0 supplement to help optimize C15:0 levels and support healthy aging.
Relevant to longevity, Dr. Venn-Watson and others have shown that the pure C15:0 ingredient in fatty15 has multiple longevity-extending mechanisms, including activating AMPK, inhibiting mTOR, and reversing six hallmarks of aging (including repairing mitochondrial function and lowering 18+ proinflammatory cytokines that drive inflammaging). In an independently run, robust, and industry-standard panel that tested fatty15 head-to-head against three leading longevity molecules (rapamycin, metformin, and acarbose), fatty15 had 36 cell-based longevity-enhancing activities - more than other candidates.
In addition to the healthy aging activities above, fatty15 has been shown to be particularly resistant to lipid peroxidation and helps to stabilize cell membranes, including red blood cells. This improved red blood cell resilience effect was first observed in Navy dolphins provided a higher C15:0 diet, and was subsequently confirmed with fatty15 supplementation studies in relevant models of red blood cell fragility. In a recently published independent, randomized and placebo-controlled human clinical trial led by the University of California San Diego, daily fatty15 supplementation significantly raised hemoglobin levels within 12 weeks among people who achieved healthy C15:0 levels (> 5 ug/ml).
The story behind Dr. Venn-Watson's surprising discovery of C15:0's role as an essential fatty acid in long-lived mammals has since been supported by 100+ peer-reviewed studies, is a TEDx talk and will be shared in an upcoming Simon & Schuster book authored by Dr. Venn-Watson, called The Longevity Nutrient.
As stated by Dr. Nicholas Schork, Head of the NIH-funded Longevity Consortium and Seraphina Therapeutics co-founder, "The breadth of evidence for C15:0's health benefits is what makes it so compelling. Very few, if any, candidate geroprotectors have been subjected to the same level of rigor in a wide variety of settings—cell-based studies, studies involving non-human species, human population studies, clinical trials, pharmacology studies, and more—and all have resulted in very positive findings."
Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness company dedicated to advancing global health through the discovery of essential fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics. Through rigorous breakthrough science, the company develops fatty acid supplements, food fortifiers, and nutritional interventions to strengthen cells, keep mitochondria working, and advance cellular homeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team of industry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challenges long-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novel health products designed to support quality of life. For more information, please visit DiscoverC15.com and fatty15.com.
Media Contact
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SOURCE Seraphina Therapeutics
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