The evolutionary origin of hormesis | Dr. Mark Mattson
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Early organisms existed in harsh environments with stressors such as food scarcity and predation. Adaptive responses to stressors such as increased neural activity while fasted, promoted survival. Dr. Mattson contends that unstressed cells become complacent, making them more vulnerable to the stressors that cause disease, including oxidative stress and inflammation. In modern times, fasting and exercise are behaviors that mildly stress cells. Exercise promotes resilience, stimulates antioxidant defenses, and increases autophagy, the removal of damaged proteins and dysfunctional organelles. Researchers in Dr. Mattson's laboratory observed that animals that were fasted or exercised had increased the number of mitochondria and increased the number of synapses in the animal's brain. In this clip, Dr. Mark Mattson describes the importance of transient, short-term, mild energetic stress to maintain healthy cells.
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Any enzyme that removes an acetyl group from lysine-containing portions of proteins. Deacetylases of interest include histone deacetylases (HDACs), which regulate gene expression, and sirtuins, which are involved in metabolism and aging.
An essential trace mineral. Selenium is incorporated into selenoproteins, a class of highly conserved proteins that exert potent antioxidant activity. Selenoproteins play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from oxidative damage and infection. One of the best-known selenoproteins is glutathione peroxidase. Selenium can be obtained from supplements and foods such as Brazil nuts, yellowfin tuna, beans, and some grains.
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