The role of lipid metabolism in aging, lifespan regulation, and age‐related disease

An emerging body of data suggests that lipid metabolism has an important role to play in the aging process. Indeed, a plethora of dietary, pharmacological, genetic, and surgical lipid-related interventions extend lifespan in nematodes, fruit flies, mice, and rats. For example, the impairment of genes involved in ceramide and sphingolipid synthesis extends lifespan in both worms and flies. The overexpression of fatty acid amide hydrolase or lysosomal lipase prolongs life in Caenorhabditis elegans, while the overexpression of diacylglycerol lipase enhances longevity in both C. elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. The surgical removal of adipose tissue extends lifespan in rats, and increased expression of…