Just 3 months of rapamycin late in life increased subsequent life expectancy by up to 60% - evidence that transient, not lifelong, dosing can capture the benefit.
| Evidence tier | C Animal in vivo |
| Study type | 4 - Animal Study |
| Model system | Mouse (middle-aged) |
| Journal | eLife |
| Year | 2016 |
| Peer reviewed | Yes |
| Source | DOI 10.7554/eLife.16351 · PMID 27549339 · Free full text (PMC4996648) |
The FDA approved drug rapamycin increases lifespan in rodents and delays age-related dysfunction in rodents and humans. Nevertheless, important questions remain regarding the optimal dose, duration, and mechanisms of action in the context of healthy aging. Here we show that 3 months of rapamycin treatment is sufficient to increase life expectancy by up to 60% and improve measures of healthspan in middle-aged mice. This transient treatment is also associated with a remodeling of the microbiome, including dramatically increased prevalence of segmented filamentous bacteria in the small intestine. We also define a dose in female mice that does not extend lifespan, but is associated with a striking shift in cancer prevalence toward aggressive hematopoietic cancers and away from non-hematopoietic malignancies. These data suggest that a short-term rapamycin treatment late in life has persistent effects that can robustly delay aging, influence cancer prevalence, and modulate the microbiome.
| Intervention | Rapamycin (transient, 3 months) |
| Target | mTOR |
| Model | Mouse (middle-aged) |
| Effect | A 3-month transient rapamycin course increased life expectancy up to 60% and improved healthspan |