That cup of coffee you need every morning doesn’t just give you the energy to get through your day. According to a new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the Francis Crick Institute (“Caffeine could slow cellular ageing: new research shows how“), caffeine, the world’s most popular stimulant, also gives your cells energy, slowing down the aging process at a cellular level.
Mystery of action inside cells
Caffeine has been repeatedly linked to potential health benefits, including reducing the risk of age-related diseases. However, until now, it has remained a mystery how exactly it works inside cells.
Study in fungi similar to human cells
Now, the new study published in the scientific journal “Microbial Cell” and based on experiments in fission yeast – single-celled organisms that are very similar to human cells – has shown that caffeine affects aging by “exploiting” an ancient cellular energy system.
The “switch” TOR… over 500 million years old years
A few years ago, the same research team discovered that caffeine helps cells live longer by acting on a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin). TOR is a biological “switch” that “tells” cells when to grow, based on the availability of food and energy. This “switch” has controlled the response to energy and stress in living organisms for more than 500 million years.
The unexpected discovery
In their study, however, the researchers made an unexpected discovery: as they saw, caffeine does not act directly on this “switch”, but works by activating another important system called AMPK – this is a system related to cellular fuels and which is evolutionarily conserved in both yeast and humans.
The AMPK system
“When your cells experience a lack of energy, the AMPK system is turned on to help them cope,” explained Dr. Charalambos Rallis, lead author of the new study, assistant professor of Genetics, Genomics and Cell Biology at Queen Mary University, adding that “our findings show that caffeine helps to ‘flip’ this switch.”
Target of metformin
Interestingly, AMPK is also the target of metformin, a common antidiabetic drug, which is being studied for its potential to extend lifespan (similar studies are being conducted for rapamycin).
Effect on cell growth, DNA repair, stress
Using the fungus, the researchers (also including Despina Stamataki, a researcher in Biology and Biological Sciences at the Francis Crick Institute) showed that caffeine’s action on the AMPK system affects cell growth, repairs their DNA and regulates their response to stress – all of which are linked to aging and diseases of old age.
Prospects for achieving the effect through diet or drugs
These results provide an explanation for why caffeine is beneficial for health and longevity. The researchers concluded by stating that they open up exciting prospects for future research on how we might achieve these effects in a more direct way, such as through diet, lifestyle or new drugs.
In any case, the next time you drink your coffee, consider that your cells are probably thanking you!
