Caloric Restriction engages hepatic RNA processing mechanisms in rhesus monkeys

Caloric Restriction (CR) extends lifespan and delays the onset of age-related disorders in diverse species. Metabolic regulatory pathways have been implicated in the mechanisms of CR, but the molecular details have not been elucidated. Here we show that CR engages RNA processing of genes associated with a highly integrated reprogramming of hepatic metabolism. We conducted molecular profiling of liver biopsies collected from adult male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) at baseline and after 2 years on control or CR (30% restricted) diet. Quantitation of over 20,000 molecules from the hepatic transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, indicated that metabolism and RNA processing are major features of the response to CR. Predictive models identified lipid, branched chain amino acid, and short-chain carbon metabolic pathways, with alternate transcript use for over half of the genes in the CR network. We conclude that RNA-based mechanisms are central to the CR response and integral in metabolic reprograming. The RNA-Seq data set consists of samples derived from liver tissue of 10 animals (5 on control diet, 5 on CR diet). Two biopsy samples were analyzed for each animal: one taken upon enrollment in the CR study, and one taken after two years of study diet.