Abstract
Discovering compounds that promote health during aging (“geroprotectors”) is key to the retardation of age-related pathologies and the prevention of chronic age-related diseases. In in-silico and model organisms’ lifespan screens, chondroitin sulfate has emerged as a geroprotective compound. Chondroitin sulfate is a glycosaminoglycan attached to extracellular matrix proteins and is naturally produced by our body. Oral supplementation of chondroitin sulfate shows a high tolerance in humans, preferable pharmacokinetics, a positive correlation with healthy human longevity, and efficacy in deceleration of age-related diseases in randomized clinical trials. We have recently shown that chondroitin sulfate supplementation increases the lifespan of C. elegans. Thus, chondroitin sulfate holds the potential to become a geroprotective strategy to promote health during human aging. This review discusses the two major potential mechanisms of action, extracellular matrix homeostasis and inhibition of inflammation, that counteract age-related pathologies upon chondroitin sulfate supplementation.
Highlights
Predicted Longevity Drug-Protein Targets Reveal ChondroitinHow to identify compounds that retard age-related pathologies and promote health during aging? There are many approaches to identify geroprotective compounds, spanning from in-silico and cellbased drug screening to direct lifespan assays in model organisms (Barardo et al, 2017; Bakula et al, 2018; Janssens et al, 2019; Kusumoto et al, 2021; Statzer et al, 2021)
Chondroitin sulfate is a naturally occurring sulfated glycosaminoglycan usually attached to extracellular matrix proteins (Figure 1)
We found that supplementing hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate increased C. elegans lifespan by 25–35% and 23–28%, respectively (Statzer et al, 2021)
Summary
Laboratory of Extracellular Matrix Regeneration, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Translational Medicine, ETH Zürich, Switzerland. Reviewed by: Georges Janssens, Academic Medical Center, Netherlands Konstantinos Palikaras, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Specialty section: This article was submitted to Interventions in Aging, a section of the journal
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
