Publications by Pénélope Andreux

Urolithin A provides cardioprotection and mitochondrial quality enhancement preclinically and improves human cardiovascular health biomarkers

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the primary cause of global mortality. Nutritional interventions hold promise to reduce CVD risks in an increasingly aging population. However, few nutritional interventions are proven to support heart health and act m ...

2025

Urolithin A improves muscle strength, exercise performance, and biomarkers of mitochondrial health in a randomized trial in middle-aged adults

Patrick Aebischer, Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux

Targeting mitophagy to activate the recycling of faulty mitochondria during aging is a strategy to mitigate muscle decline. We present results from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in middle-aged adults where we administer a postbiotic compound Uroli ...

2022

Expansion of T memory stem cells with superior anti-tumor immunity by Urolithin A-induced mitophagy

Pénélope Andreux

T memory stem cells (T-SCM) display increased self-renewal and prolonged survival capabilities, thus preventing T cell exhaustion and promoting effective anti-tumor T cell responses. T-SCM cells can be expanded by Urolithin A (UA), which is produced by the ...

CELL PRESS2022

Impact of the Natural Compound Urolithin A on Health, Disease, and Aging

Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Pamela Solange Valdés Undurraga, Davide D'Amico, Anurag Singh

Urolithin A (UA) is a natural compound produced by gut bacteria from ingested ellagitannins (ETs) and ellagic acid (EA), complex polyphenols abundant in foods such as pomegranate, berries, and nuts. UA was discovered 40 years ago, but only recently has its ...

2021

Direct supplementation with Urolithin A overcomes limitations of dietary exposure and gut microbiome variability in healthy adults to achieve consistent levels across the population

Patrick Aebischer, Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Davide D'Amico

Background Urolithin A (UA) is produced by gut microflora from foods rich in ellagitannins. UA has been shown to improve mitochondrial health preclinically and in humans. Not everyone has a microbiome capable of producing UA, making supplementation with UA ...

2021

Urolithin A improves muscle function by inducing mitophagy in muscular dystrophy

Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Peiling Luan, Hao Li, Davide D'Amico, Pirkka-Pekka Untamo Laurila, Martin Rainer Wohlwend, Tanes Imamura de Lima

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common muscular dystrophy, and despite advances in genetic and pharmacological disease-modifying treatments, its management remains a major challenge. Mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to DMD, yet the mecha ...

AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE2021

ARDD 2020: from aging mechanisms to interventions

Pénélope Andreux

Aging is emerging as a druggable target with growing interest from academia, industry and investors. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced screening techniques, as well as a strong influence from the industry sector may lead to nove ...

IMPACT JOURNALS LLC2020

The mitophagy activator urolithin A is safe and induces a molecular signature of improved mitochondrial and cellular health in humans

Patrick Aebischer, Frederic Burdet, Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Dongryeol Ryu, Anurag Singh

Urolithin A (UA) is a natural dietary, microflora-derived metabolite shown to stimulate mitophagy and improve muscle health in old animals and in preclinical models of aging(1). Here, we report the results of a first-in-human clinical trial in which we adm ...

NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP2019

MicroRNA-382 silencing induces a mitonuclear protein imbalance and activates the mitochondrial unfolded protein response in muscle cells

Johan Auwerx, Norman Lionel Moullan, Pénélope Andreux, Xu Wang

Proper mitochondrial function plays a central role in cellular metabolism. Various diseases as well as aging are associated with diminished mitochondrial function. Previously, we identified 19 miRNAs putatively involved in the regulation of mitochondrial m ...

2019

Mitochondria! function is impaired in the skeletal muscle of pre-frail elderly

Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux

Aging is accompanied by a gradual decline in both muscle mass and strength over time, which can eventually lead to pathologies, such as frailty and sarcopenia. While these two conditions are well characterized, further investigation of the early biological ...

Nature Research2018

An unbiased silencing screen in muscle cells identifies miR-320a, miR-150, miR-196b, and miR-34c as regulators of skeletal muscle mitochondria! metabolism

Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Xu Wang

Objective: Strategies improving skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity are commonly paralleled by improvements in (metabolic) health. We and others previously identified microRNAs regulating mitochondrial oxidative capacity, but data in skeletal muscle are ...

Elsevier Science Bv2017

Urolithin A induces mitophagy and prolongs lifespan in C. elegans and increases muscle function in rodents

Patrick Aebischer, Maria del Carmen Sandi Perez, Elena Katsyuba, Johan Auwerx, Damien Sébastien Huzard, Norman Lionel Moullan, Pénélope Andreux, Evan Graehl Williams, Dongryeol Ryu, Laurent Mouchiroud, Giuseppe Lo Sasso, Pooja Jha

The biological effects of urolithins remain poorly characterized, despite wide-spread human exposure via the dietary consumption of their metabolic precursors, the ellagitannins, which are found in the pomegranate fruit, as well as in nuts and berries. We ...

2016

An evolutionarily conserved role for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in the regulation of movement

Michael Vincent Frochaux, Bart Deplancke, Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Evan Graehl Williams, Laurent Mouchiroud

The BXD genetic reference population is a recombinant inbred panel descended from crosses between the C57BL/6 (B6) and DBA/2 (D2) strains of mice, which segregate for about 5 million sequence variants. Recently, some of these variants have been established ...

Public Library of Science2014

A method to identify and validate mitochondrial modulators using mammalian cells and the worm C-elegans

Sabrina Bichet, Johan Auwerx, Richardus Houtkooper, Norman Lionel Moullan, Pénélope Andreux, Adrienne Joëlle Laurence Mottis, Laurent Mouchiroud, Virginija Jovaisaite, Xu Wang

Mitochondria are semi-autonomous organelles regulated by a complex network of proteins that are vital for many cellular functions. Because mitochondrial modulators can impact many aspects of cellular homeostasis, their identification and validation has pro ...

Nature Publishing Group2014

Bioavailable copper modulates oxidative phosphorylation and growth of tumors

Carole Poitry-Yamate, Johan Auwerx, Pénélope Andreux, Douglas Hanahan, Seiko Ishida

Copper is an essential trace element, the imbalances of which are associated with various pathological conditions, including cancer, albeit via largely undefined molecular and cellular mechanisms. Here we provide evidence that levels of bioavailable copper ...

National Academy of Sciences2013

Pharmacological approaches to restore mitochondrial function

Johan Auwerx, Richardus Houtkooper, Pénélope Andreux

Mitochondrial dysfunction is not only a hallmark of rare inherited mitochondrial disorders but also implicated in age-related diseases, including those that affect the metabolic and nervous system, such as type 2 diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Numerous ...

Nature Publishing Group2013

Identification of genetic determinants and pharmacological modulators of mitochondrial function

Pénélope Andreux

Increased life expectancy goes hand in hand with a higher incidence of age-related diseases that affect the nervous and metabolic systems, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. These complex diseases are a product of the com ...

EPFL2013