Does DSIP prevent/decrease lipofuscin accumulation? Where to start?

My first introduction to lipofuscin was actually TAing a course at the University of Vermont (BCOR103) in which students were viewing aged C. elegans by the fluorescent lipofuscins that accumulated in the adults. I knew about Piracetam before then but I hadn’t really made the connection with lipofuscin.

Lipofuscins are described as products of oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids that can result from membrane damage and cross-linked proteins damaged by oxidation [Terman & Brunk, 2004]. It’s known to accumulate during aging as these products can’t be degraded and removed from the cell. Oxidative stress is known to increase lipofuscin accumulation. Although lipofusin accumulation has been implicated in a number of pathologies (neurodegeneration being a major one) one of the most researched has been its presence in age-related macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration results from deterioration of the central area of the retina (the macula). HMM….THE RETINA, EH? WEIRD. PRACTICALLY ALL THE STUDIES INVOLVING DSIP THAT AREN’T ABOUT DELTA SLEEP ARE ABOUT RETINAL REGENERATION [Ex. Kresyun, 2014]. WEIRD.

Anyway. It is pretty clear that I suspect that DSIP is involved in clearing lipofuscin, in part due to studies suggesting effects countering oxidative damage [Bondarenko, et al., 2001; Bondarenko, et al., 2014; Belykh, et al., 2015; Kutilin, et al., 2014]. Oh yeah, I learned a new thing today. DSIP is also known as deltalycyn.

To really start thinking about this, though, I have to start thinking about areas where there is more information. Clearly, research on DSIP is lacking, but Piracetam has gotten a little more attention and has been shown to decrease lipofusin [Paula-Barbosa, et al., 1991; Brandao, et al., 1995; Riga & Riga, 1995]. Really, there is enough ‘good stuff’ regarding Piracetam that it’s a challenge to know where to start.

There are a few studies that are starting to suggest mechanisms for lipofuscin removal [Riga, et al., 2006]. I would suppose that the most appropriate way to start might be to compare/contrast the effects of Piracetam & DSIP while describing everything that is known about the removal of lipofuscin. So, I guess that is my plan. I think I’ll start with describing the removal of lipofuscin.

This blog post is essentially just to provide a list of resources. My next post will be a more thorough evaluation of some of the studies suggesting methods of removal of lipofuscin.

References:

Belykh, A.E.; Bobyntsev, II; Kryukov, A.A.; Dudka, V.T. [the influence of delta sleep-inducing peptide on functional state of rats hepatocytes in foot-shock stress]. Ross. Fiziol. Zh. Im. I M Sechenova 2015, 101, 700-707.

Brandao, F.; Paula-Barbosa, M.M.; Cadete-Leite, A. Piracetam impedes hippocampal neuronal loss during withdrawal after chronic alcohol intake. Alcohol 1995, 12, 279-288.

Bondarenko, T.I.; Milyutina, N.P.; Shustanova, T.A.; Mikhaleva, II. The effects of delta sleep-inducing peptide on the intensity of lipid peroxidation and xanthine oxidase activity in rat tissues during cold stress. Neurosci. Behav. Physiol. 2001, 31, 83-86.

Bondarenko, T.I.; Kutilin, D.S.; Mikhaleva, II. [rat tissues antioxidant status correction by peptide delta sleep during physiological aging of the organism]. Adv Gerontol 2014,

Paula-Barbosa, M.M.; Brandao, F.; Pinho, M.C.; Andrade, J.P.; Madeira, M.D.; Cadete-Leite, A. The effects of piracetam on lipofuscin of the rat cerebellar and hippocampal neurons after long-term alcohol treatment and withdrawal: A quantitative study. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 1991, 15, 834-838.

Terman, A.; Brunk, U.T. Lipofuscin. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 2004, 36, 1400-1404.

Kresyun, N.V. The influence of deltalycyn and transcranial cerebellar stimulation upon recovery of retina after photo stress in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Rev. Med. Chir. Soc. Med. Nat. Iasi 2014, 118, 1068-1073.

…there are also several more from this lab during this year.

Kutilin, D.S.; Bondarenko, T.I.; Kornienko, I.V.; Mikhaleva, II. Effect of delta sleep-inducing peptide on the expression of antioxidant enzyme genes in the brain and blood of rats during physiological aging. Bull. Exp. Biol. Med. 2014, 157, 616-619.

Riga, D.; Riga, S. Brain lipofuscinolysis and ceroidolysis--to be or not to be. Gerontology 1995, 41 Suppl 2, 271-281.

Riga, S.; Riga, D.; Schneider, F.; Halalau, F. Processing, lysis, and elimination of brain lipopigments in rejuvenation therapies. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 2006, 1067, 383