SerpApi.Org
Compounds in coffee may help protect aging cells by activating a receptor that plays a role in how cells respond to stress and damage, according to a new study.
Researchers found that several compounds naturally present in coffee can interact with a protein called NR4A1, a receptor involved in controlling cellular responses linked to inflammation, stress and injury. The discovery provides a possible explanation for how coffee components may influence processes connected with aging and age-related diseases.
The study does not show that drinking coffee prevents disease or directly slows aging in people. Instead, it identifies a molecular pathway that may help explain how compounds in coffee affect cells.
NR4A1 is a type of nuclear receptor, meaning it helps regulate gene activity inside cells. The researchers investigated whether compounds found in coffee could activate this receptor and change how cells respond.
They found that several coffee compounds could bind to NR4A1 and influence its activity. The strongest effects came from plant-based compounds in coffee, including caffeic acid and other polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds, rather than caffeine.
In laboratory models, these compounds produced changes associated with reduced cellular damage and slowed the growth of cancer cells. When researchers removed NR4A1 from the cells, the effects of the coffee compounds were no longer seen, suggesting that the receptor is an important part of the process.
The findings suggest that coffee’s effects on cells may come from compounds that act through NR4A1 rather than from caffeine itself. This may help explain why both regular and decaffeinated coffee have previously been linked with similar health associations.
Dr. Stephen Safe, distinguished professor and Sid Kyle Endowed Chair in Veterinary Toxicology in VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, told Newsweek that moving from laboratory findings to possible health applications will require further research.
“There are several hurdles, the biggest of which is obtaining funding to support the research and partnering with commercial concerns to further develop and extend applications to health-related problems.”
Safe said his team has been studying NR4A1 and compounds that interact with the receptor for about 15 years, and their research is focused primarily on cancer and collaborations involving tissue injury, with the goal of developing NR4A1-targeting compounds for potential clinical applications.
The researchers became interested in a possible connection between coffee compounds and NR4A1 after studying the receptor’s role in aging and age-related diseases.
“As indicated above, we have been working on NR4A1 and compounds that bind NR4A1 for many years (> 15 years) and after writing a review on this receptor, it appeared that it was involved in aging and age-related diseases. Since coffee is also protective from age-related diseases, we hypothesized that maybe coffee and its components work through NR4A1,” Safe said.
The team’s interest was also supported by previous findings involving other plant-based compounds. Safe said flavonoids, which are health-protective compounds found in fruits and vegetables, also interact with NR4A1.
“Another reason we thought that coffee components might act through NR4A1 is that we recently showed and published that flavonoids-the health protective compounds in fruits and vegetables also bind NR4A1 and in models of cancer and endometriosis they inhibit their growth,” he said.
The researchers say the findings highlight NR4A1 as a possible target for future studies. While the results reveal a potential mechanism through which coffee compounds affect cells, more research is needed to determine how these effects translate to human health.
Journal Reference:
Amanuel Hailemariam, Srijana Upadhyay, Arafat Rahman Oany, Wai Ning Tiffany Tsui, Vinod Srivastava, Gargi Sivaram, Kelly Churion, Robert S. Chapkin, Laurie A. Davidson, Shoshana Eitan, James J. Cai, Roger Norton, Stephen Safe. Brewed Coffee and Its Components Act Through Orphan Nuclear Receptor 4A1 (NR4A1). Nutrients, 2026; 18 (6): 877 DOI: 10.3390/nu18060877
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Gray R. Thomas
Related Articles
