This technology is a therapeutic agent that activates or enhances circadian-regulated autophagy to enhance longevity and delay aging and age-related health conditions.
Aging and age-related diseases pose a significant burden to healthcare, considering that the incidence of cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative disease increase exponentially with age. Time-restricted feeding, or intermittent fasting, has become of interest in recent years for its potential to delay aging and improve health. Since time-restricted feeding does not limit nutrient or caloric uptake, its benefits are believed to stem from circadian-regulated functions, however the mechanisms are still unclear and there remains a need for non-dietary interventions that efficaciously promote healthy aging.
This technology identifies circadian-regulated autophagy as acellular mechanism that promotes longevity in response to tim-restricted feeding. The specific proteins involved in this mechanism (UNC-15-like kinase (ULK1), microtubule-associated protein, light chain 3 (LC3), adenosine monophosphate protein kinase (AMPK), ribosomal protein S6 kinase beta-1 (S6K)) can be therapeutically targeted in order to evoke the benefits of time-restricted feeding without requiring the subject to follow a time-restricted feeding schedule. Alternatively, any agent that activates circadian-regulated autophagy can also be therapeutically administered for the same benefits. As such, this technology offers a potential therapeutic strategy for healthier aging that circumvents the need for burdensome intermittent fasting.
This technology has been validated in vivo in Drosophila melanogaster.
Patent Pending (US 20240000753)
IR CU21009
Licensing Contact: Kristin Neuman