Five anti-aging treatments that extend mouse lifespan share a single internal marker: high levels of ergotionein, according to Dnevni list Danas.
The team analyzed data across four drugs—17$alpha$-estradiol, kanagliflozin, akarboza, and rapamicin—alongside caloric restriction.
Researchers tested groups of four treatments using an artificial intelligence program to evaluate mouse biology.
The software tested if it could identify an omitted fifth treatment based on chemical profiles.
The AI successfully separated treated mice from untreated control groups in 33 out of 35 tests, pointing toward shared metabolic overlaps.
Ergotionein stood out as the sole chemical indicator that appeared widely across more than two types of tissue among all evaluated molecules.
Dnevni list Danas said levels of this substance increased in both the blood and brains of mice during all five lifespan-extending interventions.
The natural compound is found in mushrooms, including toadstools, and enters animal systems through dietary intake.
The treatments produced varying chemical alterations depending on the specific intervention used.
The study showed shared similarities in how the animals’ bodies managed fat tissue.
Scientists said concrete evidence linking higher ergotionein levels directly to extended lifespan is not yet established.
The study did not include mice receiving treatments known to not extend life. This leaves open whether these metabolic shifts are strictly unique to anti-aging interventions.
The findings cannot be directly transferred to humans because the data derives exclusively from animal trials.
Investigators plan additional checks to determine whether long-term exposure to diet changes or drugs alone drove the results. They hope ergotionein might eventually serve as a biomarker to measure the speed of anti-aging therapies.
“The rate of aging can be slowed down by genetic mutations, dietary changes, and medications, but the metabolic mechanisms behind lifespan-extending interventions are still insufficiently researched,” said researchers in their published scientific work.
