Aging is a process involving physiological changes that lead to the decline of biological functions of various tissues and organs of the body. Therefore, it is crucial to find anti-aging drugs that can intervene with the changes induced because of aging and slow down the degeneration of the biological functions. Among many signaling pathways linked with aging and aging-related diseases, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway has attracted major attention in aging biology. In this research paper, we have demonstrated that AKT inhibitor GSK690693 can extend lifespan in Drosophila irrespective of start of the treatment from the beginning of life or the mid-life. Effect of GSK690693 for lifespan extension has been primarily related to the improvements in oxidative resistance, intestinal integrity and increased autophagy, but not in physical activity or starvation resistance. Furthermore, GSK690693 treatment reduced the activation of AKT and ERK, consequently activating FOXO, GSK-3β and apoptosis to modulate longevity of flies. Remarkably, GSK690693 did not induce hyperglycemia after treatment. The results indicate that GSK690693 may become an effective compound for anti-aging intervention.
Keywords: AKT; Anti-aging; Autophagy; Drosophila; GSK690693.
Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.