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Increased synthesis of a coenzyme linked to longevity can combat disease

The coenzyme NAD+ can be produced from the amino acid tryptophan. It emerges that inhibiting an enzyme that degrades an intermediate in this pathway can help to combat kidney and liver diseases in mouse models.
  1. Samir M. Parikh

    1. Samir M. Parikh is in the Center for Vascular Biology, Department of Medicine and Division of Nephrology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.

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Throughout the history of life on Earth, there has been a requirement for small molecules called nucleotides. Long chains of nucleotides make up the genetic code, and single nucleotides transduce signals or transfer energy. In addition, a dimeric form of nucleotide called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) serves at least two pivotal cellular functions. The first is to shuttle high-energy electrons to enzymatic complexes found in organelles called mitochondria, where their energy can be efficiently harvested; the second is as a substrate for enzymes such as sirtuins, which regulate many cellular behaviours. In a paper in Nature, Katsyuba et al.1 shed light on a fundamental mechanism by which the correct levels of NAD+ are maintained in cells, and demonstrate how augmenting this pathway can affect disease.

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Nature 563, 332-333 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07088-4

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