NAD+

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a coenzyme found in every living cell and is central to redox reactions that drive cellular energy production. NAD+ shuttles electrons between metabolic reactions and serves as a required substrate for enzymes involved in DNA repair, gene expression, and cellular stress responses. Research interest in NAD+ has grown alongside evidence that cellular NAD+ pools decline with age and metabolic stress, prompting investigation into how NAD+ availability influences mitochondrial function, cellular resilience, and longevity-related pathways.

NAD+ cycles between its oxidized (NAD+) and reduced (NADH) forms as it participates in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. Beyond its redox role, NAD+ is consumed as a substrate by sirtuins (a family of NAD+-dependent deacylases), PARP enzymes involved in DNA repair, and CD38, an ectoenzyme that regulates NAD+ turnover. Research examines how supporting NAD+ availability — through precursors such as nicotinamide riboside or nicotinamide mononucleotide — influences mitochondrial biogenesis, sirtuin activity, and downstream metabolic signaling.

• Mitochondrial function, oxidative phosphorylation, and cellular ATP production.
• Sirtuin activity and its influence on gene expression, metabolic regulation, and stress tolerance.
• DNA damage response and PARP-mediated repair pathways.
• Age-related decline in tissue NAD+ pools and interventions to support NAD+ availability.
• Metabolic health markers including insulin sensitivity, lipid handling, and inflammation.

• Verdin E. NAD+ in aging, metabolism, and neurodegeneration. Science, 2015.
• Rajman L, Chwalek K, Sinclair DA. Therapeutic potential of NAD-boosting molecules: the in vivo evidence. Cell Metabolism, 2018.
• Cantó C, Menzies KJ, Auwerx J. NAD+ metabolism and the control of energy homeostasis. Cell Metabolism, 2015.