Oliver's mTOR Atlas Evidence Platform
Reading level
Mode

Restriction of individual branched-chain amino acids has distinct effects on the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease in 3xTg mice

Babygirija R, Lamming DW et al. · 2026 · Advanced Science · Atlas ID BAB2025

What this study shows

UPDATE (was bioRxiv preprint at seed time, peer-reviewed and published in Advanced Science March 2026). Restricting individual branched-chain amino acids has distinct, sex-specific effects on cognition and AD pathology in 3xTg mice; restriction of isoleucine and valine (but not leucine) promotes metabolic health. Note: the different BCAAs act differentially on mTORC1, which is why single-amino-acid restriction matters.

Abstract

ShowHide

Dietary protein regulates metabolic health and aging, with many benefits of a low protein diet resulting from reduced consumption of the three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Each BCAA has distinct physiological and molecular effects, and while restriction of protein or all three BCAAs improves cognition in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the role of each individual BCAA on AD is unknown.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Mouse (Alzheimer's disease model)); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type4 - Animal Study
Model systemMouse (Alzheimer's disease model)
JournalAdvanced Science
Year2026
Peer reviewedYes
Record last updated2026-08-22
SourceDOI 10.1002/advs.202515220 · PMID 41817439 · Free full text (PMC13248761)

Extracted findings

InterventionDietary (restriction of individual BCAAs: Leu/Ile/Val)
TargetBCAAs / mTORC1
ModelMouse (3xTg Alzheimer's model)
EffectIndividual BCAAs have distinct effects on Alzheimer's progression; restriction (notably isoleucine) improves outcomes
DoseDiets with 67% reduction of isoleucine, leucine, or valine, started at 6 months of age; duration was 9 months for body composition, 3 months for metabolic tests.
Sample size3xTg and NTg mice of both sexes; n=5-14 per diet group per sex, varying by experiment.
Effect sizeValR diet significantly increased energy expenditure in 3xTg females (p<0.05); IleR increased energy expenditure in 3xTg males (p<0.05) and improved glucose tolerance in both sexes (p<0.05).
Limitationsnot stated

In the Atlas

Related topics

Leucine/BCAA restrictionAlzheimer's disease

More studies on this topic

Cite this paper

ShowHide 
Babygirija, R., et al. (2026). Restriction of individual branched-chain amino acids has distinct effects on the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease in 3xTg mice. Advanced Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202515220

@article{BAB2025,
  author       = {Babygirija, R. and Lamming, D. W. and others},
  title        = {{Restriction of individual branched-chain amino acids has distinct effects on the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease in 3xTg mice}},
  journal      = {Advanced Science},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1002/advs.202515220},
  note         = {PMID: 41817439},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper. 

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record BAB2025) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/BAB2025/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_BAB2025,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record BAB2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/BAB2025/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}