Doxycycline is an antibiotic with anti-ageing properties. Research shows it can reverse signs of aging in mice by reprograming their epigenetic status.
Excess alcohol consumption is associated with cardiovascular diseases and an acceleration in cell aging. Scientists have demonstrated that doxycycline reduces ethanol-induced cell aging in endothelial cells.
1. Anti-aging
Doxycycline not only offers anti-inflammatory benefits, but it can also reverse aging by stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis and inhibiting the expression of mTOR to lower ROS levels and cell senescence. Doxycycline has been used to treat cardiovascular diseases and cancer; however, its benefits have yet to be proven; most commonly used for COPD symptoms reduction but can be used against osteoarthritis and acne as well.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania led by Profs Takahashi and Yamanaka conducted a groundbreaking study using doxycycline to partially reprogram adult cells back into pluripotent stem cells using Takahashi and Yamanaka’s model from 2006. Following that step, these new stem cells were differentiated into heart cells in order to test whether or not they could help protect vascular aging; and results demonstrated that mice treated with doxycycline had lower blood pressure, longer lifespans and fewer teratomas as well as epigenetic markers of aging.
Ethanol has long been recognized as a risk factor in cardiovascular diseases and linked to accelerated aging of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). A drug screening panel of 170 drugs was evaluated and it was discovered that doxycycline inhibited toxic molecular events caused by excess alcohol exposure – up to 400 mM with or without doxycycline; 10uM alone did not cause cytotoxicity in HUVECs.
Ethanol accelerates HUVEC telomere shortening, leading to cell senescence and eventually cell death. Ethanol-treated cells also had reduced lamin b1 expression. Doxycycline reversed this ethanol-induced senescence by increasing lamin b1 protein expression as well as inhibiting activation of mTOR and p-S6 activity – this helps decrease oxidative stress, delay cellular senescence, extend lifespan as well as stimulate autophagy activity while increasing autophagy function p-mTOR also stimulates autophagy while increasing autophagy function as well. Furthermore, Doxycycline increased GADD45 expression which plays an essential role in controlling cells’ stress response mechanisms.
2. Skin rejuvenation
Doxycycline can help reverse aging by improving your skin health. It does this by decreasing bacteria on your skin, which in turn prevents acne breakouts. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory properties may help alleviate redness associated with rosacea and it has anti-wrinkle and fine line properties as well. Finally, its anti-ageing benefits may help diminish signs of aging such as wrinkles and fine lines by blocking enzymes that break down collagen.
Enhancing skin elasticity also can help make you appear firmer and younger as it helps increase collagen and elastin synthesis – the proteins responsible for keeping your skin tight and smooth.
Doxycycline can reverse aging by improving your blood flow. It does this by reducing inflammation and encouraging new blood vessel formation; additionally, doxycycline may prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries – something which often contributes to heart disease.
Excess alcohol consumption is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and accelerates cell aging in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). To evaluate whether doxycycline could inhibit this ethanol-induced senescence process in HUVEC, we performed a scratch assay on 6-well plates containing HUVEC cultured with 400 mM ethanol or an combination of 400 mM ethanol and 10 ug/mL of doxycycline for four days before harvesting cells to measure their telomere length–an indicator of cellular senescence.
3. Anti-cancer
Doxycycline, a semi-synthetic second generation tetracycline antibiotic, is a broad spectrum antibiotic with antimicrobial and anti-aging effects. It targets the 30S subunit of the ribosome to inhibit protein synthesis by bacteria; and has anti-inflammatory and anti-aging benefits as well as acting as a senolytic drug which selectively kills and removes senescent cells that accumulate with age; this process is associated with several diseases as well as premature aging; inhibiting p-mTOR and its downstream signaling molecule p-S6 reduces cellular senescence while simultaneously increasing autophagy processes.
Doxycycline’s senolytic effects may be enhanced when combined with other drugs, particularly methotrexate (another senolytic medication). Researchers believe this combination may improve health-span and longevity by decreasing cancer and other inflammatory diseases, while its anti-senescence benefits are enhanced further by inhibiting p-mTOR and its downstream signaling molecules such as p-S6 and p-mTORC1. Blocking this pathway decreases cellular senescence caused by short telomeres while increasing autophagy to clear away damaged proteins/organelles from damaged organelles/proteins/proteins/molecules from damaged proteins/organelles/ cells from damaged proteins/organelles that accumulate over time, potentially improving overall health by slowing its effect; inhibiting these molecules also provides further boost to help slowing its effects by slowing their effects through increasing autophagy which cleans damaged proteins/organelles from cells while simultaneously clearing damaged proteins/organelles from autophagy to clear damaged proteins/organelles/.
BioRxiv* published a study showing that doxycycline partially reverses aging in progeroid mice. Researchers administered this medication via retroviral vector containing OSK cassette and extended their lifespan by 109%.
Mitochondria, the organelles responsible for producing 90 percent of the chemical energy cells require to survive, have been found to become less functional with age and linked with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s dementia. Horvath and Raj used epigenetic methylation clocks to assess whether doxycycline could reset mitochondrial DNA methylation levels.
Ethanol can accelerate human umbilical vein endothelial cells’ (HUVECs) aging by shortening telomere length and cell senescence, so researchers screened 170 compounds to find one which would counter ethanol’s adverse molecular events; they discovered doxycycline significantly restored ethanol-accelerated telomere length and migration of endothelial cells as well as increasing MMP-9 and TIMP-2 expression levels while simultaneously decreasing proinflammatory cytokines TNF-alfa and IL-6 proinflammatory proc inflammatory proc inflammatory pro inflammatory pro inflammatory cytokines TNF-alfa and IL-6
4. Hair growth
Tetracyclines have also been found to stimulate hair growth, increasing levels of certain proteins while inhibiting another one known as cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Furthermore, these antibiotics have also been demonstrated to decrease production of certain proinflammatory molecules that promote aging such as cytokines and prostaglandins; their action being thought due to antagonism with their target enzymes.
Researchers conducted several experiments where they infected mice with a genetic mutation that depletes mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA depletion). After four weeks, otherwise healthy animals showed physical changes reminiscent of natural aging: graying and thinning hair; skin wrinkles; slow movements and lethargy; dysfunctional hair follicles and abnormal sebaceous glands. Notably, however, when this mutation was turned off these phenotypes could reversed back.
These observations have been confirmed through longitudinal analysis of data from a large, placebo-controlled trial of doxycycline and its derivatives. The primary analysis involved linear regression to estimate change in normal scores between baseline and 2 years; independent variables included baseline normal score, gender, sex and dichotomous treatment (0 for placebo/1 for doxycycline); as planned in advance there was also an evaluation for whether separate analyses of men and women would be necessary.
Results revealed that doxycycline significantly delayed the onset of aging symptoms for both males and females, even though they all received identical doses of the medicine. Differences in symptoms between groups were linked with mitochondrial oxidative stress influences on COX-2 production within cells; those receiving doxycycline experienced higher COX-2 production than placebo groups whereas their levels of other inflammatory molecules remained similar across both.
To maximize the anti-aging benefits of Doxycycline, it is vital that it is taken with food. This ensures that it won’t lodge in your esophagus and cause discomfort or irritation.
