A genetic model of methionine restriction extends Drosophila health- and lifespan

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 118; no. 40; p. 1
• Main Authors: Parkhitko, Andrey A, Wang, Lin, Filine, Elizabeth, Jouandin, Patrick, Leshchiner, Dmitry, Binari, Richard, Asara, John M, Rabinowitz, Joshua D, Perrimon, Norbert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 05.10.2021
• Subjects: Aging; Aging - genetics; Alzheimer Disease - genetics; Alzheimer's disease; Amino acids; Amino Acids - genetics; Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified - genetics; Biodegradation; Biological Sciences; Carbon-Sulfur Lyases - genetics; Diet; Drosophila; Drosophila - genetics; Flies; Food; Fruit flies; Homeostasis; Humans; Insects; Life span; Longevity - genetics; Metabolism; Methionine; Methionine - genetics; Microbiota; Models, Genetic; Neurodegenerative diseases; Physiological effects; Tau protein; 13C-Methionine labeling; aging; Alzheimer’s disease; methionine restriction; Methioninase
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2110387118

Loss of metabolic homeostasis is a hallmark of aging and is characterized by dramatic metabolic reprogramming. To analyze how the fate of labeled methionine is altered during aging, we applied C5-Methionine labeling to and demonstrated significant changes in the activity of different branches of the methionine metabolism as flies age. We further tested whether targeted degradation of methionine metabolism components would "reset" methionine metabolism flux and extend the fly lifespan. Specifically, we created transgenic flies with inducible expression of , a bacterial enzyme capable of degrading methionine and revealed methionine requirements for normal maintenance of lifespan. We also demonstrated that microbiota-derived methionine is an alternative and important source in addition to food-derived methionine. In this genetic model of methionine restriction (MetR), we also demonstrate that either whole-body or tissue-specific expression can dramatically extend health- and lifespan and exerts physiological effects associated with MetR. Interestingly, while previous dietary MetR extended lifespan in flies only in low amino acid conditions, MetR from expression extends lifespan independently of amino acid levels in the food. Finally, because impairment of the methionine metabolism has been previously associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease, we compared methionine metabolism reprogramming between aging flies and a model relevant to Alzheimer's disease, and found that overexpression of human Tau caused methionine metabolism flux reprogramming similar to the changes found in aged flies. Altogether, our study highlights Methioninase as a potential agent for health- and lifespan extension.