Every part, every organ, and every cell in our body needs energy to function properly. We can’t avoid aging, but we can prolong our life from its sudden or premature aging. With aging, our energy levels are not the same as they used to, so our organs can’t function optimally. However, certain ways can help boost the energy our body needs. NAD+ is biosynthesized from niacin, also known as vitamin B3. The more energy the body needs, the more NAD needs to be synthesized. Recent studies found how NAD+ precursor, called NMN (Nicotinamide mononucleotide) can increase energy levels through AMPK activation (AMP-activated protein kinase).
The increase in AMPK mimics the effect of calorie restriction and is associated with a 20-30% longer lifespan of laboratory models. History records that 8,000 patients with type 2 diabetes who took the drug to modulate AMPK had a 54% lower incidence rate of all cancers than the general population.
How does AMPK function?
AMPK is an important enzyme in the body. As the name suggests, AMP activates AMPK. The main energy source in the body is ATP (adenosine triphosphate). When energy concentrations decrease, it becomes ADP (adenosine diphosphate), and at the end AMP (adenosine monophosphate). More AMP in the cell indicates low energy. In this case, AMPK is activated to promote catabolic processes. AMPK successfully regulates SIRT1 by increasing NAD+ levels too.
Those who produce more AMPK have more energy and vice versa. AMPK, in addition to being a fuel sensor and a major metabolic switch, regulates cell growth and replication. It can order cancer cells to stop destroying energy. When AMPK is activated, cancer cells starve because their access to energy is cut off.
This study is focused on how NMN can boost AMPK activation and how it can prolong lifespan in humans.
The findings analysis
Because aging is the cause of developing diseases, treating it can prevent and prolong a healthy lifespan. Nutrients, supplements, good sleep, and exercise are responsible for achieving this. Antioxidants are also important because they fight free radicals and protect our cells from developing cancer.
In addition to antioxidants, studies have found that activating AMPK can help against aging. AMPK is an enzyme that regulates sugar and lipid metabolism and maintains homeostasis in the body, thus preventing further development of diabetes type 2, cancer, obesity, and more. Furthermore, AMPK suppresses chronic inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, supports autophagy, improves mitochondria function, and leads to healthy longevity.
For this case, NMN has proven to boost the AMPK activation to produce more NAD+. The study focuses on treating human MCF-7 breast cancer cells with 1 mg/mL NMN, significantly increasing AMPK activation by 1,200%.
AMPK activation with NMN
NMN was found to help in the AMPK activation. There were two groups in the study, the NMN-treated group and the controlled group. The activity of AMPK was measured after 1, 12, and 24 hours. In addition to the NMN-treated group, the AMPK activity increased by 1230.5% after 1 hour, 506.5% after 12 hours, and 849.2% after 24 hours. The results show that NMN plays a crucial role in activating AMPK. These findings suggest that AMPK activation improvement leads to better mitochondrial function, thus providing anti-aging effects.
When ATP is low, the main energy source, AMPK, is activated immediately near mitochondrial stress and begins to regulate hemostasis, mitochondrial function, etc.
Kawakami S, Fukuzawa Y, Ichikawa H, Sato T, Ide T, Maeda Y, Yamamoto T. NMN “Nicotinamide Mononucleotide” Activates Intracellular Energy and Approaches the Prevention and Improvement of Aging. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2022 May 21; 3(5): 560-565. doi: 10.37871/jbres1480, Article ID: JBRES1480, Available at: https://www.jelsciences.com/articles/jbres1480.pdf
(Increase of AMPK activity in both the NMN-treated and controlled group, measured at each time.)
Another interesting finding is that NMN can increase NAD+ levels in humans. In the NMN-treated group with 1 mg/mL for MCF-7 breast cancer cells, NAD+ levels were drastically increased. Compared to the non-treated group, the NAD+ concentrations were increased by 300%. These results indicate that NMN can raise NAD+ levels and be a successful treatment for age-related conditions.
Kawakami S, Fukuzawa Y, Ichikawa H, Sato T, Ide T, Maeda Y, Yamamoto T. NMN “Nicotinamide Mononucleotide” Activates Intracellular Energy and Approaches the Prevention and Improvement of Aging. J Biomed Res Environ Sci. 2022 May 21; 3(5): 560-565. doi: 10.37871/jbres1480, Article ID: JBRES1480, Available at: https://www.jelsciences.com/articles/jbres1480.pdf
(NMN treatment has triple the NAD+ concentration in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells, compared with the non-treated group.)
Limitations in the study
In this study, investigators choose to explore the effect of NMN only in human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. They didn’t mention how NMN will impact more healthy human lines. Many cell lines can be used as an alternative for this study, which is not from damaged tissues. There is already low AMPK activation and decreased NAD+ levels in the breast cancer cells. More research is needed to investigate how cancer, as a disease, affects NAD levels and AMPK activation.
Conclusion
With this study conducted, we can conclude that we can manage the aging process by activating and increasing certain enzymes in the cells. AMPK is reduced with aging, but NMN can be used as a possible treatment to activate AMPK and to increase the NAD+ levels, which are crucial for the cells to function optimally. Because AMPK controls cellular stress, it can also prolong lifespan in different organisms.
