Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010 May;54(5):719-25. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200900382.
Vitamin E refers to a family of several compounds that possess a similar chemical structure comprising a chromanol ring with a 16-carbon side chain. The degree of saturation of the side chain, and positions and nature of methyl groups designate the compounds as tocopherols or tocotrienols. Vitamin E compounds have antioxidant properties due to a hydroxyl group on the chromanol ring. Recently, it has been suggested that vitamin E may also regulate signal transduction and gene expression. We previously reported that lifelong dietary vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation significantly increased median lifespan in C57BL/6 mice by 15%. This lifespan extension appeared to be independent of any antioxidant effect. Employing a transcriptional approach, we suggest that this increase in lifespan may reflect an anti-cancer effect via induction of the P21 signalling pathway, since cancer is the major cause of death in small rodents. We suggest that the role of this pathway in life span extension following supplementation of vitamin E now requires further investigation.
维生素 E 是指一类具有相似化学结构的化合物，它们都包含一个带有 16 个碳原子侧链的色醇环。侧链的饱和度、甲基的位置和性质决定了这些化合物是生育酚还是三烯生育酚。由于色醇环上有一个羟基，维生素 E 化合物具有抗氧化特性。最近，有人提出维生素 E 可能还能调节信号转导和基因表达。我们之前的研究报告表明，终身补充膳食维生素 E（α-生育酚）可使 C57BL/6 小鼠的中位寿命延长 15%。这种寿命的延长似乎与任何抗氧化作用无关。采用转录组学方法，我们发现这种寿命的延长可能反映了通过诱导 P21 信号通路的抗癌作用，因为癌症是小型啮齿动物死亡的主要原因。我们认为，补充维生素 E 后，该通路在延长寿命中的作用需要进一步研究。
