General Poster: Calorie Restriction

Scientific Poster

Substantial evidence indicates that restricting energy intake delays aspects of the ageing process but the mechanisms responsible for this beneficial effect remain unclear. The protein Sirt1, which increases in tissues and cells when energy intake is restricted, is emerging as a strong candidate for being a principal mediator of these effects and much research is focused on studying its mechanisms of action in this context. One known action of Sirt1 is to remove chemical groups from proteins called histones, which form a core around which the DNA in the cell's nucleus is wrapped. This process is referred to as histone deacetylation. Deacetylation of histones is linked with a chemical modification to the DNA molecule itself – DNA methylation. Changes in DNA methylation occur with ageing. In this project we will investigate if expressing Sirt1 in cells alters histone deacetylation and/or DNA methylation to reveal a possible mechanism through which increasing Sirt1 expression through energy restriction can affect the process of ageing.