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Recent news on significant difference made by heat treatment of CR

diet on various health parameters.

Oral glycotoxins determine the effects of calorie restriction on

oxidant stress, age-related diseases, and lifespan.Cai W, He JC, Zhu

L, Chen X, Zheng F, Striker GE, Vlassara H.

Department of Geriatrics,Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave

Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.

We previously showed that the content of advanced glycation end

products (AGEs) in the diet correlates with serum AGE levels, oxidant

stress (OS), organ dysfunction, and lifespan. We now show that the

addition of a chemically defined AGE (methyl-glyoxal-BSA) to low-AGE

mouse chow increased serum levels of AGEs and OS, demonstrating that

dietary AGEs are oxidants that can induce systemic OS. OS predisposes

to the development of cardiovascular and chronic kidney diseases;

calorie restriction (CR) is the most studied means to decrease OS,

increase longevity, and reduce OS-related organ damage in mammals.

Because reduction of food intake also decreases oxidant AGE s intake,

we asked whether the beneficial effects of CR in mammals are related

to the restriction of oxidants or energy. Pair-fed mice were provided

either a CR diet or a high-AGE CR diet in which AGEs were elevated by

brief heat treatment (CR-high). Old CR-high mice developed high

levels of 8-isoprostanes, AGEs, RAGE, and p66(shc), coupled with low

AGER1 and GSH/GSSG levels, insulin resistance, marked myocardial and

renal fibrosis, and shortened lifespan. In contrast, old CR mice had

low OS, p66(shc), RAGE, and AGE levels, but high AGER1 levels,

coupled with longer lifespan. Therefore, the beneficial effects of a

CR diet may be partly related to reduced oxidant intake, a principal

determinant of oxidant status in aging mice, rather than decreased

energy intake.

PMID: 18599606 [PubMed - in process]

PMCID: PMC2475771 [Available on 02/01/09]