NUTRITION AND APOPTOSIS

The objective of this review is to summarize information about the rol e of apoptosis in mediating the effects of nutritional interventions w hich prolong life span, suppress autoimmune diseases, and decrease tum origenesis. Nutritional interventions such as calorie restriction (CR) likely postpone the accumulation of damaging effects that accompany a d libitum (AL) food intake and aging. However, the beneficial effects of CR or other nutritional interventions may not be limited to progres sive, slowly accumulating events, but may also include important effec ts during growth and development. An example of the latter would inclu de modulation of the selection and editing processes occurring in the thymus during maturation of the immune system. Regulation of apoptosis may be particularly relevant to these developmental processes, though decreased apoptosis also plays a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmu ne diseases and age-related events such as tumorigenesis. Therefore, w e will review the evidence that increased apoptosis mediates the effec t of CR (and/or supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids), suppresses tumors, ameliorates autoimmune diseases, and prolongs life span. Copyr ight (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.