How various concentrations of nutrients affect basal redox homeostasis of fruit flies according to gender and aging.

Abstract

We evaluated the effects of type of nutrients on redox status according to age and gender in Drosophila melanogaster. Flies were raised on different dose of sucrose and fixed concentration of protein containing media and separated according to their gender and age. Redox status biomarkers such as protein carbonyl groups, dityrosine, kynurenine, lipid hydroperoxides, advanced glycation end products, and Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase were assessed. We found that all of the males had higher levels of basal oxidative stress biomarkers except protein carbonyl. On the other hand, Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase activity was elevated. We found that high concentration of sucrose leads to impaired redox status. We also observed that high protein content in sucrose-based media fecundity rate was increased and also transition to adult flies and survival ratio were decreased. Further studies are needed to focus on evaluation of the relation between median life span, nutritional mechanisms, and redox status biomarkers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Aging is characterized by functional decline in whole body system. Unfortunately, many of the life span extension strategies may lead to age-related disorders. It is widely accepted that impaired redox homeostasis is one of the signs of age-related pathophysiological changes. Due to difficulties in the establishment and validation of mimetic aging models in rodents, D. melanogaster is becoming/getting widely used model organism in gerontological studies. Currently, high protein and low carbohydrate-based nutrition regimes have become one of the most popular nutritional choice in aging population. Favorable nutrition type is considered one of the important factors for preventing age-related pathologies and promote healthy aging. In this study, we aimed to evaluate redox modulatory effects of different nutrition types as combination of various sucrose and constant protein concentration on basal redox status in D. melanogaster. Due to evolutionally conservation, we hypothesize that similar findings may be observed in aging population. Favorable nutrition type may ameliorate or postpone age-related degenerative processes and promote healthy aging.