Taurine, a substance naturally present in the body of animals, plays a role in aging, according to a study published Thursday in Science. First, the authors observed that its concentration in the blood decreases with age in several species, including humans. Second — and most importantly — they found that taking taurine supplements prolongs the healthy lifespan of mice and monkeys. They are now calling for a large human clinical trial.
The new publication is the result of an “11-year science marathon” led by Vijay Yadav, a professor at Columbia University in New York who studies the biology of aging. The results, from his lab and those of collaborators around the world, link taurine deficiency to a host of age-related health parameters. In mice and monkeys, this link is causal, say the researchers.
“Taurine presses the brake pedal of aging. However, it does not put the vehicle in reverse. It slows down the aging process, and that’s why animals [qui prennent des suppléments] live longer and healthier,” Yadav explained Tuesday, in a digital press conference attended by The duty has assisted.
This new article is “a tour de force”, judges Gerardo Ferbeyre, a researcher at the CHUM Research Center, who is not one of the authors of the publication in Science. The quality of the new article lies in the range of results in several species, according to this Quebec scientist who studies treatments that reduce cell aging. “The only thing missing, of course, are studies in humans,” he says.
We find taurine, an amino acid discovered in ox bile in the 19th century.e century, in the body of all animals. This molecule represents 0.1% of the total mass of the human being. Our liver is able to synthesize taurine, but our body also acquires it through the foods we eat. Taurine is also known because of its presence in several energy drinks.
The authors of the new publication demonstrate for the first time that the concentration of taurine in the blood decreases with age in mice, monkeys and humans. In elderly humans, the concentration is 80% lower than that measured in children. However, this correlation does not allow us to say whether the decline in taurine is a cause or a consequence of aging.
The team therefore gave taurine supplements to mice. Rodents received daily doses from the age of 14 months until the end of their days. On average, treated females lived 12% longer compared to a control group, and males 10%. Taurine supplements also extended the lifespan of nematode worms, but not that of yeasts.
Taurine not only increased the longevity of the mice, but also allowed them to live healthier lives. Those given the treatment showed greater muscle strength, better neuromuscular coordination, greater bone density, better glucose tolerance and better memory. They were also less anxious.
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Scientists don’t know exactly how taurine works. However, they found that taurine reduces cellular senescence (a phenomenon that makes cells “zombies”), protects against certain DNA-related dysfunctions and reduces inflammation. Its broad-spectrum action leads Henning Wackerhage, one of the study’s authors, to believe that taurine “in a way touches the engine room of aging”, at the very heart of the cells.
Team members also administered taurine supplements to rhesus macaques for six months. They saw beneficial effects on the weight, bones and liver of these primates. However, the trial was too short to observe an effect on their longevity. The scientists also looked at the results obtained in 12,000 human participants in an English population-based cancer study. They found that those with more taurine in their blood suffered less from certain health problems, such as diabetes and inflammation.
Mr. Yadav and his colleagues now want to organize a large randomized clinical trial, where thousands of participants would receive 3 to 6 grams of taurine per day, and others, a placebo. They insist on one point: the current data do not make it possible to recommend the taking of taurine supplements, and even less that of energy drinks. As for the harmlessness of the molecule, they are optimistic. The European Food Safety Authority does not consider taurine in energy drinks (typically 1 gram per can) to be harmful.
On our plates, we find taurine in seafood, fish, poultry, beef and certain algae, among others. Vegetarians swallow much less, but that does not prevent them from living eight years longer than omnivores, on average, recalls Martin Juneau, director of prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute.
The Dr Juneau acknowledges that the taurine study is “very well done”. However, he adds: “For a cardiologist like me, who has worked my whole life in prevention, I can’t help but smirk when I see a study like this. There are known interventions that slow down aging. Eat less, eat more plants, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight. Everything works, it’s proven. But we don’t put a penny on it, or very little. »
Conducting a taurine clinical study with thousands of participants will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, warns Dr.r Juneau. However, this very inexpensive molecule, impossible to patent, will certainly disdain large investors and pharmaceutical companies. Other molecules that stretch the lifespan of mice – such as metformin (an antidiabetic) and rapamycin (an immunosuppressant) – are also difficult to sell, and it is difficult to finance clinical trials concerning them.
The possible effectiveness of taurine will also have to weigh up against these competitors, which extend the lifespan of rodents by 5% to 50%. Taurine could be used in combination with some of them, Yadav suggested. One thing is certain, we are currently witnessing an explosion of research into molecules that slow down aging.
“Increasingly, biomedical science is coming to understand that aging is the basis of most major diseases,” says Dr.r Ferbeyre, from the CHUM Research Center. “If we continue to research each disease individually, without really attacking the basic problem, perhaps we will never find a good solution. »