공고 • Jul 28
Niagen Bioscience Announces Newly Published Analysis Demonstrating Niagen Supplementation Improves Muscle-Specific Marker of Biological Aging
Niagen Bioscience, Inc. announced the publication of a new peer-reviewed analysis of past clinical studies in Aging Cell examining the effects of Niagen (patented nicotinamide riboside, NR) supplementation was associated with reduced muscle epigenetic age acceleration measured by the Muscle Epigenetic Age Test (MEAT) clock. Changes in muscle mitochondrial DNA content correlated with changes in MEAT-derived epigenetic age acceleration, suggesting a potential relationship between mitochondrial adaptations and epigenetic clock measures. The study was led by first author Aino Heikkinen, doctoral researcher, and principal investigator Miina Ollikainen, PhD, Docent in Epigenetics, both of the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research in Helsinki, Finland, in collaboration with Eija Pirinen, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Oulu, and University Researcher, University of Helsinki, and a multi-institution research team spanning Finland, Denmark, and Australia. With a portion of the data generated through Niagen Bioscience's external Niagen Research Program, the study analyzed skeletal muscle and blood samples from three previously published, independent clinical studies, alongside new laboratory experiments in human muscle cells using seven distinct epigenetic clocks to assess epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a molecular measure of biological aging. Skeletal muscle is central to mobility, metabolic function, and quality of life, which changes significantly with age. Aging muscles tend to lose mitochondrial content and function, contributing to sarcopenia and frailty. NAD+ is a coenzyme essential to mitochondrial energy production and also serves as a required co-substrate for enzymes that regulate the epigenome, inflammation, and cellular repair. NAD+ levels decline with age (up to 65% between ages 30-70) in both muscle and skin, a decline linked to many of the functional changes associated with aging. Both Niagen NR supplementation and exercise, including HIIT, have been shown in prior research to alter the NAD+ metabolome in skeletal muscle. Because NAD+ sits at the intersection of mitochondrial function and epigenetic regulation, researchers have long hypothesized that boosting NAD+ through supplementation, exercise, or both may influence not only cellular energy metabolism, but also biological or epigenetic aging. The analysis integrated skeletal muscle and blood samples from three previously conducted, independent clinical trials: a five-month, 1,000 mg/day Niagen NR supplementation twin study (Lapatto et al., 2023), and two independent 4–6 week supervised HIIT training studies (Søgaard et al., 2017; Jacques et al., 2020), along with in vitro experiments in primary human myotubes. To measure changes in epigenetic age acceleration, skeletal muscle and blood samples were assessed using seven established epigenetic clocks, including DunedinPACE, PCHorvath, PCHannum, PCPhenoAge, PCGrimAge, GrimAge2, and MEAT, a muscle-specific clock. A significant association was found between epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) and mitochondrial content following Niagen supplementation, providing new insight into the relationship between mitochondrial biology and skeletal muscle aging. EAA measures how much older or younger a tissue appears biologically than would be expected based on its chronological age. Niagen NR supplementation for 5 months reduced muscle EAA by approximately 2.5 years after five months, as measured by the muscle-specific MEAT epigenetic clock, and significant reductions were also observed with the DunedinPACE and PCHannum clocks. The differing patterns observed across several epigenetic clocks support further research into how Niagen NR and HIIT influence skeletal-muscle epigenetic aging, including studies designed to evaluate them together. One possibility is that HIIT-associated inflammation and transient muscle damage may work against certain epigenetic aging signals in ways Niagen NR does not, suggesting the two could offer complementary rather than redundant benefits. Notably, in one clock, HIIT outperformed Niagen NR, reinforcing that future research is needed. Following Niagen NR supplementation, six of seven skeletal muscle epigenetic clocks showed changes consistent with lower EAA, with statistically significant reductions observed in the MEAT, DunedinPACE, and PCHannum clocks. Three clocks showed significantly lower epigenetic age acceleration after supplementation in blood. One skeletal muscle clock, PCGrimAge, observed an increase in EAA. These results demonstrate that no single test tells the whole story. In vitro, Niagen NR increased NAD+ levels in human myotubes (muscle cells) by 1.52-fold versus control-treated cells, though no significant changes in epigenetic aging markers or mitochondrial DNA quantity (mtDNAq) were observed in this cell model, suggesting the muscle-level benefits seen in people may depend on whole-body factors that a simple cell model cannot fully capture. As one of the first studies to compare Niagen NR and exercise's effects on epigenetic aging across multiple biological clocks and tissue types, this research deepens the scientific case that Niagen NR supplementation may influence skeletal muscle epigenetic aging biomarkers and support healthy muscle aging, while underscoring that, like exercise, its effects are nuanced and still being defined through ongoing research.