Richard WeindruchRichard Weindruch, Ph.D.

Room B72 Veterans Admin Hospital
2500 Overlook Terrace
Madison, WI 53705-2286
608-256-1901, ext. 11642
rhweindr@wisc.edu

Emphasis Group:
Human Nutrition

Principal Research Interest:
Influences of caloric intake on aging and oxidative stress

Research Summary:
Our group investigates the relationship between diet and aging processes. The main focus is on caloric intake. It has been known for more that than 50 years that caloric restriction (CR), without malnutrition, will greatly extend the maximum life span of rats and mice and decrease the incidence of cancer and other late-life diseases. CR appears to retard the rate of aging in nearly all species tested to date. Not only do rodents on CR live longer than normally fed controls, but the biological changes that occur normally with aging occur at a slower rate. The magnitude of CR's effects on longevity, diseases, and age-sensitive biological parameters in rodents is unmatched by other interventions.

Our research on CR is attempting to answer two questions:

What are the mechanisms that underlie the retardation of aging and diseases by CR in rodents? Our current studies are testing the hypothesis that CR retards aging by lowering oxidative stress of mitochondrial origin. Collaborating with Dr. Tomas Prolla, we are employing oligonucleotide microarrays to obtain a global view of the transcriptional changes induced by aging and CR.
Does CR retard aging and diseases disease processes in primates in a fashion similar to its effects in rodents? Here, studies in non-human primates (rhesus monkeys) are ongoing, which will determine whether CR retards the rate of aging as measured by noninvasive tests and survival patterns. Also, studies in humans are being considered.


Representative Publications:

Higami Y, Pugh TD, Page G, Allison DB, Prolla TA, Weindruch R: Adipose tissue energy metabolism: altered gene expression profile of mice subjected to long-term caloric restriction. FASEB J. 18:415-7, 2004.

Colman RJ, McKiernan SH, Aiken JM, Weindruch R: Muscle mass loss in rhesus monkeys:  Age of onset. Exp. Gerontol. 40:573-81, 2005.

Higami Y, Barger JL, Page GP, Allison DB, Smith SR, Prolla TA, Weindruch R: Energy restriction lowers the expression of genes linked to inflammation, the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix, and angiogenesis in mouse adipose tissue. J. Nutr. 136:343-52, 2006.

Anderson RM, Weindruch R: Metabolic reprogramming in dietary restriction. In: Mechanisms of Dietary Restriction in Aging and Disease (Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology), ed. by CV Mobbs, K Yen, PR Hof.  Karger, Basel, Vol. 35, pp. 18-38, 2007.