Riboflavin depletion promotes longevity and metabolic hormesis in Caenorhabditis elegans
This study makes a very important statement about assumptions that have been made regarding what is “good for you” in aging. In this study led by CGM Investigator Alex Soukas and CGM and MGH Endocrine Instructor Armen Yerevanian, the authors show that reducing levels of an essential vitamin, riboflavin, which is necessary to make the cofactor FAD, is beneficial in aging, prompting stress defenses and promoting lifespan extension in C. elegans. While there is a ways to go to prove benefits in humans, it challenges the “dogma” that with vitamins more is better for you.
Read more in the MGH Research Spotlight and 10.1111/acel.13718.
The Center for Genomic Medicine (CGM) comprises one of the largest and most vibrant hubs of genomic medicine research in the world. The CGM includes 46 faculty collaborating to define the ‘genomic medicine cycle’ – which envisages a genomics community seeking to advance research from basic genomics research to ultimately using genome information for diagnostics and targeted therapeutics. All of our investigators are faculty at Harvard Medical School, and many members of our community are also investigators at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.
