Hypothesis Volume 2, Issue 8 pp 461—470

Figure 2. Bile acids are beneficial to health and longevity in animals. (A) In mammals, bile acids (BA) function not only as trophic factors for the enteric epithelium and detergents for the emulsification and absorption of dietary lipids, but also as signaling molecules that regulate lipid, glucose and energy homeostasis and activate detoxification of xenobiotics.By improving overall health, BA may delay the onset of age-related diseases and have beneficial effect on longevity. By activating transcription of numerous xenobiotic detoxification genes and thus promoting chemical hormesis, BA may extend their longevity by acting as endobiotic regulators of aging. (B) In worms, following their synthesis from cholesterol in the intestine, hypodermis, spermatheca and sensory neurons, bile acid-like dafachronic acids (DCA) are delivered to other tissues where they activate the DAF-12/DAF-16 signaling cascade, thereby orchestrating an anti-aging transcriptional program and increasing the life span of the entire organism.