Justin Xhelilaj
Research Mentor: Gonzalo Garcia
Mentor Department: Pathology, Medicine
Author(s): Justin Xhelilaj, Richard Miller, Gonzalo Garcia
Session: Session 6 (3:00 PM – 3:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 139
Abstract
One approach to learning about the mechanisms of aging is studying how the use of pharmacological interventions, dietary interventions, and genetic models that alter metabolic pathways extend lifespans. Identifying metabolic changes associated with these interventions and models requires organizing metabolomic datasets for statistical analysis. Metabolic datasets from male and female mice were collected from interventions including 17-a estradiol, rapamycin, canagliflozin, acarbose, and calorie restriction, as well as genetic models including Growth Hormone Receptor Knockout and Snell dwarf mice. This data was organized across multiple tissues, including brain, plasma, liver, kidney, gastrocnemius muscle, inguinal fat, and gonadal fat. Metabolite abundance data was structured by tissue and sex and statistically analyzed for significance. Analysis focused on ergothioneine, a compound produced by fungal bacteria in the gut. Analysis revealed that ergothioneine was absorbed and significantly accumulated in tissues, with effects varying by tissue type and sex. Previous studies have shown that an increase in ergothioneine in food is associated with extended lifespans in some models of mice. The most consistent changes were found in brain, liver, and adipose tissues. These findings suggest that ergothioneine levels increase with the interventions and genetic models, showing a positive association between lifespan extension and ergothioneine levels. Furthermore, these results can be used to infer what mechanisms cause an increase in ergothioneine levels, including the potential upregulation of its specific transporter.
