Reducing enzyme activity extends lifespan in flies
Half the female dementia-model flies remained alive at 43 days with an enzyme inhibitor, compared with about 37 days on control food.
Our read
Mechanisms- Studied:
- Experiments in female Drosophila melanogaster flies, against control food
- What changed:
- Half the female flies remained alive at 43 days with an enzyme inhibitor against about 37 days on control food
- Stake:
- An author works for Altos Labs. Authors work for Talisman Therapeutics, founded it and hold shares in it. Authors also declare ties to 1 more company.
- In the record:
- One of 3 papers on NAT10 inhibitor on record: 1 with results in people, 1 in animals.
- Why it’s aging research:
- Lifespan, survival or healthspan.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
In experiments in female Drosophila melanogaster flies expressing a dementia-linked mutant form of human tau protein, researchers reduced the activity of NAT10, an enzyme. Flies ate control food or food containing 100 micromolar Remodelin, which inhibits NAT10. Lifespan tests used five groups of 25–35 females per condition and genetic background.
Remodelin reduced defects in the membranes surrounding nerve-cell nuclei and extended lifespan. Genetically reducing NAT10 function also corrected nuclear shape defects and extended lifespan in mutant-tau flies. It also reduced defects and extended lifespan in otherwise normal flies. In separate experiments, researchers corrected nuclear membrane defects in human nerve cells grown in the lab by exposing them to Remodelin for 48 hours. These cells came from stem cells derived from two people with a dementia-causing mutation in the gene for tau.
Why it matters
The authors identify NAT10 as a potential therapeutic target for tau-related brain diseases and suggest it may have a wider role in nerve-cell aging and longevity.
Caveats
These were experiments in animals and lab-grown cells, not a clinical trial. Longer life in female flies and corrected defects in human cells do not show a benefit for people with dementia.
The paper
University College London
iScience, Jul 22, 2026, Open access
Comments
Be the first to comment.