Transcriptomic Effects of Healthspan-Promoting Dietary Interventions: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Aging is the greatest risk factor most diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, cancers, diabetes, and neurodegeneration, but select nutritional interventions may profoundly reduce the risk for these conditions. These interventions include calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, protein restriction, and reducing intake of certain amino acids. Certain ad libitum diets, including the Mediterranean, Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, and Okinawan diets also promote healthy aging. Evidence indicates that these dietary strategies influence aging and healthspan by acting on the biological “hallmarks of aging” and especially upstream nutrient sensing pathways. Recent advances in “omics” technologies, including RNA-sequencing (transcriptomics), have increased our understanding of how such nutritional interventions may influence gene expression related to these biological mediators of aging, primarily in pre-clinical studies. However, whether these effects are also reflected in the human transcriptome, which may provide insight on other downstream/related cellular processes with aging, is an emerging topic. Broadly, the investigation of how these nutritional interventions influence the transcriptome may provide novel insight into pathways associated with aging, and potential targets to treat age-associated disease and increase healthspan. Therefore, the purpose of this mini review is to summarize what is known about the transcriptomic effects of key dietary/nutritional interventions in both pre-clinical models and humans, address gaps in the literature, and provide insight into future research directions.