Alpha-lipoic acid rejuvenates aged intestinal stem cells by preventing age-associated endosome reduction

To identify the mechanism with which ALA rejuvenates aged ISCs, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on dissected midguts of Drosophila both with and without ALA administration. The results of this study showed that a cluster of autophagy-related genes had a significantly higher level in aged midguts (40 days) of Drosophila that received ALA administration compared with old midguts of Drosophila that did not receive ALA administration. Moreover, Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes, which were only upregulated in old midguts of Drosophila that received ALA administration, showed significant enrichment of genes involved in endocytosis.