How does dietary restriction extend lifespan in flies?

Lifespan in flies is extended by limiting the activity of a group of proteins called GATA transcription factors (TFs), giving clues to how a moderate reduction in food intake protects against multiple ageing-related diseases, according to a new UCL-led study. The beneficial effect of reducing the action of a GATA TF is comparable to the prolonged lifespan achieved through dietary restriction; which is defined as a reduction of particular or total nutrient intake without causing malnutrition. This intervention has previously been shown to extend the lifespans of mice and many other animals. GATA TFs play important roles in health across animals including humans, and the study also associates these proteins with lifespan-extending dietary alterations in mice. "Across animals, moderately restricting total calorie intake extends lifespan, and anecdotally some humans who do the same stay youthful longer. Scientists have been looking to identify the molecular biological mechanisms behind why this is the case since 1935," explained first author, Dr Adam Dobson, UCL Institute of Healthy Ageing. The study, published in NPJ Aging and Mechanisms of Disease today in collaboration with the Berlin Institute of Health and Monash University, investigated how limiting GATA TFs extends the lifespans of flies and which tissues are important for this longevity effect.