β‐Hydroxy‐β‐methylbutyrate extends lifespan and attenuates age‐dependent loss of flight ability in Drosophila melanogaster (246.2)

Abstract

β‐Hydroxy‐β‐Methylbutyrate (HMB) extends lifespan and attenuates age‐dependent loss of flight ability in Drosophila melanogasterAlexandra Beattie1, Sean M. Garvey2 and Jim O. Vigoreaux11Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 054052Strategic R&D, Abbott Nutrition, Columbus, OH 43219 Muscle function deteriorates with age. HMB enhances muscle strength in humans and attenuates disease‐induced and disuse atrophy in rodents. We investigated the feasibility of utilizing Drosophila as a model organism to study the biological effects of HMB in muscle. Using flight ability as an index of muscle function, we found that HMB attenuates the age‐dependent decline in muscle function. Male flies fed a diet supplemented with 10 mg/ml HMB (MB10) had higher flight scores than control flies fed a normal diet (MB00) after median age (weeks 4 and 6; p<0.01). Similar results were observed in female flies (weeks 4 and 5; p<0.01), and in the total population of flies (weeks 4 and 6; p<0.01). Significant differences in flight ability were found when comparing male flies fed 5mg/ml HMB (MB05) v 1 mg/ml HMB (MB01) (week 6; p<0.01) and total fly population (week 6; p<0.01). MB10 increased maximum lifespan by ~15% (75 ± 2 v 65 ± 2 days for MB00). The life extension effect was seen in females (12%) and males (17%). MB10 increased the median age of males (42±1 v 38±1 days for MB00, p<0.05) but not of females. A similar lifespan extension effect was seen when comparing MB05 (58±1 days) to MB01 (53 ±1 days; p<0.01); however, there was no difference in the median age between the two groups. We propose that HMB attenuates the age‐dependent decline in flight ability and prolongs lifespan by influencing muscle health. This research was funded by Abbot Laboratories, Inc.