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A study published in PLOS Biology in 2023 found that Menin levels declined in certain hypothalamic neurons in aging mice. Restoring Menin improved several aging-related measures, while D-serine supplementation improved learning and memory tests; the findings have not established benefits in people.
A 2023 study in mice found that restoring the brain protein Menin improved several measures associated with aging, while giving the mice the amino acid D-serine improved performance on learning and memory tests. The findings, led by Lige Leng of Xiamen University and revisited in an October 2026 ScienceDaily report, point to a possible connection between inflammation in the hypothalamus and changes elsewhere in the body, but do not show that either intervention slows aging or prevents memory loss in humans.
The researchers found that Menin levels gradually fell with age in particular neurons in the hypothalamus, a brain region involved in regulating functions including metabolism, sleep, and hormone production. The decline was not seen in the astrocytes or microglia examined. Earlier work by Leng and colleagues had identified Menin as a protein that helps restrain inflammation in the hypothalamus and regulate gene activity.
To test whether declining Menin could contribute to aging-related changes, the team used genetically modified mice with reduced Menin activity. Those animals developed more hypothalamic inflammation, thinner skin, lower bone mass, and poorer cognitive performance; their lifespans were also modestly shorter. In a separate experiment, researchers used gene delivery to increase Menin in a specific hypothalamic area of 20-month-old mice. After 30 days, the treated animals showed improvements in skin thickness, bone mass, learning, memory, and balance tests, along with reduced inflammation and changes in some metabolic measures. A separate survival analysis found the treated mice lived longer than untreated controls.
The team also linked Menin to D-serine, which supports signaling through NMDA receptors involved in communication between neurons. Menin influences PHGDH, an enzyme in the pathway that produces serine. When Menin activity declined, D-serine levels also fell; restoring Menin increased D-serine in the hippocampus, a region important for memory. Older mice given D-serine in their drinking water for three weeks performed better on learning and memory tests. The reported results do not establish that D-serine reverses other aging changes or extends lifespan.
What the Mouse Results Suggest
The study adds to research examining whether the brain helps coordinate changes that occur across the aging body. The hypothalamus regulates systems with effects beyond the brain, so a change in its inflammatory state could be relevant to several tissues. In these experiments, altering Menin was associated with outcomes in cognition, skin, bone, and metabolism—not just one measure.
The D-serine results also offer a possible clue to the memory findings: a decline in Menin may affect a biochemical pathway that supports signaling in brain circuits used for learning. But the experiments were conducted in mice, using targeted gene delivery or a specific supplement. They do not show that ordinary dietary changes, over-the-counter supplements, or a treatment available to people would produce the same effects. The work is a research lead, not evidence of a proven anti-aging or memory treatment.
How Menin and D-Serine Connect
The hypothalamus is a small region near the base of the brain with roles in regulating body temperature, hunger, metabolism, sleep, and hormone production. Persistent inflammation in the brain, known as neuroinflammation, is one area of study in aging. Menin has attracted research interest because it helps regulate gene activity and, in earlier work by the same group, was linked to restraint of inflammation in the hypothalamus.
D-serine is one form of the amino acid serine and has a role in brain signaling. It is related to L-serine, found in foods including soybeans, eggs, fish, and nuts, but the forms are not interchangeable in the way they were used in the experiments. The researchers supplied D-serine to mice in drinking water. The study does not establish that eating foods containing L-serine raises brain D-serine or reproduces the test results.
The underlying paper was published in PLOS Biology in March 2023. ScienceDaily’s October 2026 report summarized the work and placed it alongside later research on the brain’s role in aging. The study described here remains animal research, not a clinical trial in people.
“The findings raised an intriguing possibility: Some effects of aging may be influenced by biological processes in the brain that scientists could eventually learn to modify.”
— ScienceDaily report on the research
What Has Not Been Tested in People
The findings do not establish whether declining Menin causes comparable changes in human aging, or whether increasing Menin or D-serine would be safe or effective in people. The experiments involved mice, and the Menin intervention used gene delivery targeted to a specific brain region. The report does not provide human trial data or evidence that a supplement can reproduce the effects of that procedure.
It is also unclear how durable the reported improvements are, what doses or treatment schedules might be relevant beyond the experiments, and whether the interventions affect health or lifespan in ways not captured by the tests. The source describes a modest lifespan difference in a separate mouse analysis but does not give enough detail here to assess its size or implications. D-serine supplementation in mice should not be read as a recommendation for people to take it.
Evidence Needed Before Human Use
The next step is further research to test the Menin–PHGDH–D-serine pathway, establish how it operates in aging animals, and assess the safety and lasting effects of interventions. Any move toward human treatment would require clinical studies measuring both benefits and risks, rather than relying on mouse memory tests or short-term changes in tissue measures.
Until such evidence is available, the study is best understood as a finding about possible mechanisms of aging in mice. Readers should not infer that D-serine supplements prevent memory loss or that Menin-based gene delivery is a current treatment. The ScienceDaily report does not identify a human trial or a planned clinical milestone.
Key Questions
Did the study show that D-serine prevents memory loss in people?
No. The reported improvement was in learning and memory tests in older mice given D-serine for three weeks. The study does not establish an effect in humans.
What happened when researchers restored Menin?
In older mice, gene delivery to a specific hypothalamic area increased Menin. After 30 days, the animals showed improvements in several measures, including skin thickness, bone mass, learning, memory, and balance tests. These results are from animal experiments.
Is D-serine the same as serine in food?
No. D-serine and L-serine are different forms of the amino acid. The experiment supplied D-serine to mice; the report says that eating foods containing L-serine is not equivalent to taking the form used in the study.
Does the research show that Menin causes aging?
The mouse experiments suggest that reducing Menin can contribute to several aging-related changes in those animals. They do not prove that Menin is a single cause of aging, or establish the same relationship in people.
Source: rss
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