An eight-ketohexose stereoisomer screen identifies d-allulose as a stereoselective suppressor of AGE-related autofluorescence in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Masashi Sato, Keiko Hirata, Hiromu Takagishi, Kanon Hosokawa, Yuka Fukushima, Tomoya Shintani

Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa, Japan.Department of Applied Biological Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki, Kagawa, Japan. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulate with age and contribute to age-related disease. Using an autofluorescence assay in Caenorhabditis elegans, we screened all eight ketohexose stereoisomers. The response was highly stereoselective: only d-allulose significantly suppressed autofluorescence (∼22% at 10 mM and ∼20% at 25 mM; corrected p < 0.01), while its enantiomer l-allulose, assayed alongside it, had no detectable effect. The suppression was undetectable at 5 mM and did not deepen between 10 and 25 mM, and suppression was also detected at 25 mM with killed bacteria. Despite this in vivo suppression, d-allulose generated substantial glycation-associated fluorescence in a cell-free bovine serum albumin system at 60 °C, indicating that it is not chemically inert. These results establish a stereochemical activity map of ketohexoses toward AGE-related autofluorescence.

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Research summary

The paper claims that d-allulose stereoselectively suppresses AGE-related autofluorescence in C. elegans without being chemically inert in cell-free systems. This is relevant because it investigates a specific molecular mechanism of aging (glycation) and identifies a potential dietary intervention that may mitigate a root cause of age-related damage, although the effect size is modest and the mechanism remains unclear given the contradictory in vitro results.

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