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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.02.24.639825

Dynamics of blood NAD and glutathione in health, disease, aging and under NAD-booster treatment

Euro, L.·Haimilahti, K.·Jansson, S.·Forsström, S.·Buzkova, J.·Suomalainen, A.
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Abstract

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and glutathione are vital molecules that control redox-state, enzyme functions and metabolic flux in hundreds of cellular metabolic reactions. High NAD+ level occurs in fasting and has been associated with health outcomes in model systems, while low NAD+/NADH ratio occurs in specific diseases. Still, the normal, booster-treated or disease-related levels of NADs or glutathiones are not well known in humans. Here, we present a standardized technology for high-throughput quantitative measurement of NAD+, NADH, NADP+, NADPH, GSH and GSSG from a single whole-blood sample. In healthy population (n=299;18-70 year-olds) redox metabolites follow normal distribution in blood and remain unchanged during aging. NAD-boosting increased 4-6 fold the blood NAD+ depending on individual, pointing to need of personalized dose adjustment in treatment trials. In patients with cancer, diabetes or neurodegeneration, NADs and glutathiones showed disease-dependent "redox fingerprints". The evidence highlights the potential of redox profiling as an indicator of metabolic pathology and as a measure of treatment response.

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Euro, L., Haimilahti, K., Jansson, S., Forsström, S., Buzkova, J., Suomalainen, A.. 2025-02-28. Dynamics of blood NAD and glutathione in health, disease, aging and under NAD-booster treatment. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.24.639825

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