Intermittent fasting improves body weight, glycemia and lipid profiles and differentially modulates Sirt1 expression in a model of induced aging

FERRAMOLA, MARIANA LUCILA; PONCE, IVANA TAMARA; FERNÁNDEZ, GUSTAVO; DEVIA, CRISTINA; PÉREZ, CAMILA MARIEL; PÉREZ, GUADALUPE; TORRES, MARÍA SOFÍA ; VERA, FLORENCIA NATALIA; ANZULOVICH, ANA CECILIA; LACOSTE, MARÍA GABRIELA

San Juan

Congreso; XLI Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2023

Sociedad de Biologia de Cuyo

Aging is a complex and multifactorial biological process that leads to a gradual deterioration of physical and cognitive capacities and increases the susceptibility to develop chronic diseases. Intermittent fasting (IF) is a strategy that consists of feeding and prolonged fasting alternating periods. Despite the growing information in favor of its benefits and mechanisms involved, there is still no conclusive evidence regarding its effects on the aging process, and even less in an induced model. Here, we investigated the effect of IF on metabolism, cognitive performance, and enzyme and gene expression in the liver and hippocampus in a D-galactose-induced aging model in rats. Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups receiving daily: 1) physiological saline solution (CTL) via intraperitoneal injection (IP), 2) D-galactose 150 mg/kg (GAL) via IP and, 3) D-galactose 150 mg/kg via IP + IF protocol (GAL+IF) for eight weeks. The IF protocol consisted of ad libitum access to food for 24 hours that was alternated with 24 hours without food. We evaluated the body mass, the liver and brain weights, the cognitive performance (Barnes Maze), metabolic parameters in serum (blood glucose and lipid profile), the activity of catalase, a key enzyme of the antioxidant defense system, and the expression levels of SIRT1, an energy homeostasis regulator, in the liver and hippocampus. At the end of the treatment, we observed that the GAL+IF group had lower body mass and liver weights in relation to the CTL and the GAL groups. We found no differences concerning cognitive performance between the groups. In relation to serum metabolic parameters, the GAL+IF group presented lower levels of glucose and triglycerides and higher levels of HDL-cholesterol than the GAL group. SIRT1 expression was higher in the livers of the GAL group, while there was no difference in SIRT1 expression in the hippocampus between the groups. In the case of catalase activity, we observed a tendency to increase in the hippocampus and to decrease in the liver of the GAL+IF group. The results of this study suggest that IF has positive effects on physical and metabolic parameters and a differential effect on gene expression and, probably, enzyme activity in the liver and hippocampus in a model of induced aging. Given that IF is becoming a widely used method, it is necessary to investigate in depth this strategy, the cognitive and metabolic consequences if applied during aging, and to determine if it can be an appropriate intervention to assist individuals at this stage and improve their quality of life.