Seraphina Therapeutics announces first nutritional deficiencysyndrome discovered in over 75 years
SANDIEGO, June 25, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A newnutritional deficiency syndrome has been discovered, which is thefirst in over 75 years.
As published in the scientific journal Metabolites, low bodylevels of C15:0 (also called pentadecanoic acid) can result infragile cells that accelerate cellular aging and increase the riskof developing chronic metabolic, heart, and liver conditions. Thisnutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome has been named CellularFragility Syndrome and may be impacting as many as 1 in 3 peopleworldwide.
"The discovery of a nutritional C15:0 deficiency syndrome is theculmination of over a decade of rigorous studies," shared Dr.Stephanie Venn-Watson, the leadauthor and co-founder of Seraphina Therapeutics. "As a hopefulinspiration to fellow and future scientists, this shows that thereare still simple and impactful discoveries to be made that canmeaningfully improve global health."
C15:0 is a stable, odd-chain saturated fatty acid that isprimarily present in whole fat dairy, but can also be found in sometypes of fish and plants. Numerous studies have shown that peoplewith low C15:0 levels have a higher risk of developing type 2diabetes, heart disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (alsocalled NAFLD). Population-wide C15:0 levels have been declining,primarily due to increasing avoidance of whole fat dairy products.Lowered daily intake of cow's milk has worsened with eachgeneration, a trend that the United States Department ofa*griculture describes as "difficult to reverse".
In the latest Metabolites paper, Dr. Venn-Watson summarizesstudies that demonstrate how low levels of C15:0 in cell membranes(≤ 0.2% total fatty acids) result in ferroptosis, which is a typeof cell death discovered by scientists at Columbia University during 2012. Since then, therehave been over 10,000 scientific papers published on ferroptosis,which has been linked to accelerated aging, type 2 diabetes, heartdisease, and NAFLD, all of which have been on the rise, especiallyamong younger adults. The cause of ferroptosis had remained amystery.
"A somewhat mysterious type of cell death, called ferroptosis,showed up as our C15:0 levels have been declining," said Dr.Venn-Watson. "We have demonstrated not only that low C15:0 can leadto ferroptosis and its downstream complications, but thatreplenishing these levels directly halts all core components ofthis new cell killer."
In the latest paper, evidence is provided to explain hownutritional C15:0 deficiencies cause cellular fragility andferroptosis. Additionally, a series of studies show that increasingC15:0 via the diet or supplementation reverses all core componentsof ferroptosis by stabilizing cell membranes, stopping liver irondeposition, repairing mitochondria, and lowering reactive oxygenspecies. As a result, C15:0 supplementation lowered glucose,cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, repaired liver function, andimproved red blood cell health in relevant models. Demonstratingthat a lack of a nutrient causes a condition, and that restorationof that nutrient fixes the condition are hallmarks of a nutritionaldeficiency.
Most people today have C15:0 levels around 0.2% of total fattyacids. While studies support that people need to maintaincirculating C15:0 levels between 0.2% and 0.4% to protect againstCellular Fragility Syndrome, there is evidence that higher C15:0levels can further support longevity and long-term heart health. Aprospective cohort study that followed more than 4,000 people over16 years showed that those with C15:0 levels between 0.40% to 0.55%had the lowest risk of developing heart disease. In a separatestudy, people living in the High Longevity "Blue" Zone ofSardinia, Italy had three times higher C15:0 levels(0.64%) compared to the general population and people living in aLow Longevity Zone (0.2%). The Sardinian diet primarily replacesmeat with high C15:0-content cheeses made from local, mountainousgrazing goats and sheep.
Interestingly, Sardinia has thehighest percentage of men in the world who live to at least 100years of age, which has been attributed to fewer deaths from heartdisease. C15:0 has numerous activities known to enhance longevityand has been shown to have more cellular benefits than the leadinglongevity-enhancing molecules: rapamycin, metformin, andacarbose.
"There are two big benefits of a discovered nutritionaldeficiency syndrome," shared Dr. Venn-Watson. "The first is thatC15:0 can be measured to identify people who have low levels. Thesecond is that we can drive meaningful changes in our diets andglobal nutritional guidelines to help replenish population wideC15:0 levels and fix these deficiencies."
About Seraphina Therapeutics. Inc.
Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc. is a health and wellness companydedicated to advancing global health through the discovery ofessential fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics. Throughrigorous breakthrough science, the company develops fatty acidsupplements, food fortifiers, and nutritional interventions tostrengthen cells, keep mitochondria working and advance cellularhomeostasis to counter age-related breakdown. With its team ofindustry-leading scientists, Seraphina Therapeutics challengeslong-held approaches to nutrition, enabling the creation of novelhealth products designed to support quality of life. For moreinformation, please visit DiscoverC15.com and fatty15.com.
Media Contact
Seraphina Theraputics, Fatty15, 1-619-407-9225,press@fatty15.com, fatty15.com
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SOURCE Seraphina Therapeutics, Inc.
