Enhancing Longevity through Oxygen Restriction: Successful Experiment on Rapidly Aging Lab Mice

Unconventional Way to Live Longer: Oxygen Restriction Increases Lifespan in Mice

Scientists have found an ‘unusual’ way to live a long life and have shown for the first time that ‘oxygen restriction’ was associated with increased lifespan in lab mice, highlighting its anti-aging ability.

Promising Interventions to Extend Lifespan

Research efforts to extend lifespan have identified a number of chemical compounds and other interventions that show promise in mammalian laboratory animals, such as the drug metformin or dietary restrictions.

Oxygen Limitation and Its Effect on Lifespan

Oxygen limitation has also been linked to increased lifespan in yeast, nematodes, and fruit flies. However, its effect on mammals is unknown.

The Study and Results

To explore the feasibility of mammalian rejuvenation through oxygen restriction, Rogers and colleagues conducted lab experiments with mice that age faster than other mice and show the classic signs of mammalian aging throughout their bodies.

Scientists compared the lifespan of mice living at normal levels of atmospheric oxygen (about 21%) with the lifespan of mice that were transferred at the age of 4 weeks to a living environment with less oxygen (11%).

They found that mice in an oxygen-limited environment lived about 50 percent longer than mice with normal oxygen levels, with an average lifespan of 23.6 weeks compared to 15.7 weeks. Mice with limited oxygen access also delayed the onset of neurological deficits associated with aging.

The Possibility of Rejuvenation Through Oxygen Restriction

These data confirm the possibility of rejuvenation of the organism due to oxygen restriction in mammals and, possibly, in humans. However, extensive additional research will be needed to elucidate its potential benefits and shed light on the molecular mechanisms by which it works.

Conclusion

“While calorie restriction is the most widely effective and well-studied intervention to increase longevity and health, this is the first time ‘oxygen restriction’ has been shown to be beneficial in a mammalian model of aging,” said Rogers.

Further studies are needed to investigate the potential benefits of oxygen restriction in humans.

Sources

Robert Rogers of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, USA, and colleagues presented these results in a study published May 23 in the journal PLOS Biology. Source: Medical Express.

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