Researchers from Osaka University in Japan have published a new study looking at the relationship between germ cells, aging and sex, finding that vitamin D extends lifespan in fish, a finding that likely applies to other vertebrates, including humans.
Dr Toru Ishitani, a researcher of Notobranchius furzeri (also known as the killifish), said: Newsweek “Vitamin D administration extended the lifespan of male and female turquoise killifish (N. furzeri),” they reported in an email about their findings. Scientific advances The study, published June 12, concluded that “life expectancy increased by 7% for women and 21% for men.”
“Giving excessive amounts of vitamin D does not extend the lifespan of medaka, so it was important to administer the appropriate amount,” he explained. Dr. Ishitani noted that “there are reports that excessive intake of vitamin D has a negative effect on the lifespan of mice,” but added, “Vitamin D has long been used as a supplement, and in appropriate amounts it has little adverse effect on health.”
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Because killifish have an extremely short lifespan of just a few weeks, making them a useful marker for analyzing aging, the researchers isolated reproductive cells from both females and males and compared their biological responses.
In female killifish, “removing germ cells shortened lifespan, reduced estrogen, and increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling,” the study said. In contrast, in males, removing germ cells increased vitamin D signaling, improving health and extending lifespan.
Dr. Michael Holick, an expert in vitamin D research at the Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Institute at Boston University, explained the vitamin D process: Newsweek “When vitamin D is made in the skin, either through exposure to sunlight or through ingestion, it goes to the liver and is converted to 25-hydroxyvitamin D. It then goes to the kidneys, where it is activated to become 125-dihydroxyvitamin D. This is the active form of vitamin D, which interacts with the vitamin D receptor to trigger a signal that then goes to the nucleus and releases genetic information,” he explained. Vitamin D “is inactive by itself and needs to be activated first in the liver and then in the kidneys.”
He found the recent findings not surprising, since the beneficial effects of vitamin D and its link to increased lifespan are “well documented.” He pointed to previous research on the nematode C. elegans, which showed that giving vitamin D extended the worm’s lifespan “due to improved protein status in the animals.” Moreover, he highlighted that the Endocrine Society’s latest vitamin D recommendations state, “empirical vitamin D supplementation is recommended for the general population aged 75 years and older to potentially reduce mortality risk.”
“There’s good evidence that higher vitamin D status is associated with a lower risk of mortality, and I think that applies across all age groups,” Dr. Holick added. He emphasized that vitamin D can improve neurocognitive function, reduce the risk of myocardial infarction and type 2 diabetes, and lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
“We know that when vitamin D is made in the skin from sunlight, it lasts in the body two to three times longer than when taken orally,” Dr. Holick said. “But if you take vitamin D every day, that’s not an issue. But we think sunlight has a lot of other potentially important benefits beyond just making vitamin D in the skin.” He recommends “moderate sun exposure.”
Newsweek Several medical researchers were contacted by email seeking comment Thursday.
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