Emerging Role of Nicotinamide Riboside in Health and Diseases

Abstract

Among all the NAD+ precursors, nicotinamide riboside (NR) has gained the most attention as a potent NAD+-enhancement agent. This recently discovered vitamin, B3, has demonstrated excellent safety and efficacy profiles and is orally bioavailable in humans. Boosting intracellular NAD+ concentrations using NR has been shown to provide protective effects against a broad spectrum of pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and hearing loss. In this review, an integrated overview of NR research will be presented. The role NR plays in the NAD+ biosynthetic pathway will be introduced, followed by a discussion on the synthesis of NR using chemical and enzymatic approaches. NR’s effects on regulating normal physiology and pathophysiology will also be presented, focusing on the studies published in the last five years.

NAD+-A Hub of Energy Metabolism in Heart Failure

“…NR has the potential to improve both congenital and acquired heart failure 42 . Furthermore, NR may also have systemic effects, particularly in liver metabolism, insulin antagonism, and skeletal muscle function, which can be altered in conjunction with heart defects 43 . When NR treatment is performed, the induction level of Myh7 in SRFHKO mice is limited, and Myh7 induction is a signal of heart stress and metabolic remodeling in heart failure 44 .…”

Nicotinamide Riboside Ameliorates Hyperpigmentation on Photo-Irradiated Skin

“…NR has been found to ameliorate tissue nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ) depletion induced by acute kidney injury via increases in autophagy and SIRT1. The induction of NAD + has protective effects against numerous conditions, including diabetes, obesity [19], neurodegenerative diseases, and noise-induced hearing loss [20][21][22]. Lapato et al reported that NR supplementation enhances muscle mitochondrial biogenesis [23].…”

Nicotinamide Riboside Regulates Chemotaxis to Decrease Inflammation and Ameliorate Functional Recovery Following Spinal Cord Injury in Mice

“…Numerous beneficial effects of NR have been reported in neurological disorders. For instance, NR has been shown to increase NAD + , reduce DNA damage, ameliorate neuroinflammation, attenuate cellular apoptosis, and improve hippocampal synaptic plasticity in diabetic mice and mouse models of Alzheimer's disease [21,22]. The administration of NR increased NAD + levels and significantly suppressed inflammation in the brain [23,24].…”