Ma Yue, Chen Mengqi, Huang Kaiyao, Chang Wakam
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China.
MOE Frontier Science Centre for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau, China.
Aging Cell. 2025 Feb;24(2):e14392. doi: 10.1111/acel.14392. Epub 2024 Oct 30.
Cysteine is an amino acid present in thiol proteins and often dictates their secondary structures. Although considered nonessential, cysteine may be essential for patients with certain metabolic diseases and can reduce the requirement for dietary methionine. Cysteine and some of its derivatives, such as N-acetylcysteine, are considered antioxidants and widely used in animal aging studies. To provide insights into the potential anti-aging effects of cysteine, we systematically reviewed and performed a meta-analysis to investigate the impact of cysteine supplementation on lifespan using three model organisms: mice, nematodes, and fruit flies. A total of 13 mouse studies, 13 C. elegans studies, and 5 Drosophila studies were included in the analysis. The findings revealed that cysteine supplementation significantly reduced the risk of mortality in mice and C. elegans. Subgroup analysis showed consistent results across different starting times and administration methods and revealed adverse effects of high doses on worms and a lack of effect in nondisease mouse models. Similar to mice, the effects of cysteine supplementation on Drosophila were not statistically significant, except in transgenic flies. The study identified certain limitations, including the quality of the included studies and the potential for publication bias. We also discussed uncertainties in the underlying molecular mechanisms and the clinical application of dietary cysteine.
半胱氨酸是一种存在于含硫醇蛋白质中的氨基酸，常决定其二级结构。尽管半胱氨酸被认为是非必需氨基酸，但对于某些患有代谢疾病的患者来说可能是必需的，并且可以降低对膳食蛋氨酸的需求。半胱氨酸及其一些衍生物，如N - 乙酰半胱氨酸，被认为是抗氧化剂，广泛用于动物衰老研究。为了深入了解半胱氨酸潜在的抗衰老作用，我们系统地回顾并进行了一项荟萃分析，以研究使用小鼠、线虫和果蝇这三种模式生物补充半胱氨酸对寿命的影响。该分析共纳入了13项小鼠研究、13项秀丽隐杆线虫研究和5项果蝇研究。研究结果表明，补充半胱氨酸可显著降低小鼠和秀丽隐杆线虫的死亡风险。亚组分析显示，在不同的起始时间和给药方法下结果一致，并且揭示了高剂量对半胱氨酸对蠕虫有不良影响，而在非疾病小鼠模型中则没有效果。与小鼠类似，补充半胱氨酸对果蝇的影响在统计学上不显著，但转基因果蝇除外。该研究确定了某些局限性，包括纳入研究的质量和发表偏倚的可能性。我们还讨论了潜在分子机制和膳食半胱氨酸临床应用方面的不确定性。
