# The reading shelf

> NAD plus energy: the reading shelf — The NAD plus energy reading list: cellular metabolism, human muscle and walking trials, tissue measurements, mouse mechanisms and the gut microbiome.

Human function first, then the cellular and animal experiments that make the mechanism interesting.

## Human outcomes

The [NMN walking-distance trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36482258/) is the most direct connection here with physical performance: healthy middle-aged adults, a placebo comparison and 60 days of observation. The [muscle insulin-sensitivity trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33888596/) asks a more specific metabolic question in prediabetic, postmenopausal women over 10 weeks.

My suggested starting pair is those experiments, followed by the [review of human NAD+ precursor supplementation during ageing](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41083806/). Its account of limited efficacy and sparse tissue-specific data provides useful resistance to enthusiasm generated by an individual result.

## Samples and tissues

The [muscle-biopsy study in older men](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31862890/) connects sarcopenia with low NAD+ and impaired mitochondrial biology. The [NAD metabolome methods paper](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34648806/) validates an analytical method in mouse plasma, whole blood and liver. [NAD+ production, cycling and compartmentalisation](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20007326/) supply the broader biochemical context.

## Cellular roles and consumption

[NAD+ in ageing, metabolism and neurodegeneration](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26785480/) gives a compact account of the molecule's redox and signalling roles. The [review of cellular processes during ageing](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33353981/) follows the enzymes that consume NAD+. The [CD38 mouse experiment](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27304511/) tests one of those consumers genetically.

[NAMPT in resistant melanoma cell lines and mouse xenografts](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29309612/) makes biological context unavoidable: the experiment investigated inhibiting NAD+ synthesis in tumour models. It supplies a caution about universal biological goals, without establishing a human supplementation risk.

## Routes and movement in experimental models

[ANT1-deficient mice given nicotinamide riboside](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35940554/) provide a specific model of exercise intolerance and metabolic restoration. [Precursor cycling between mice and their gut microbiome](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36476934/) reveals a surprisingly indirect route to host NAD+. The older [human fibroblast culture experiment](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11135366/) follows extracellular NAD breakdown and cellular uptake of a hydrolysis product. I especially like these route papers for the complications they introduce into a straight-line replenishment story.

## References

[1] NAD⁺ in aging, metabolism, and neurodegeneration. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26785480/
[2] NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33353981/
[3] CD38 Dictates Age-Related NAD Decline and Mitochondrial Dysfunction through an SIRT3-Dependent Mechanism https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27304511/
[4] Nicotinamide mononucleotide increases muscle insulin sensitivity in prediabetic women https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33888596/
[5] The efficacy and safety of β-nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in healthy middle-aged adults: a randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, dose-dependent clinical trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36482258/
[6] NAD(+) precursor supplementation in human ageing: clinical evidence and challenges https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41083806/
[7] The secret life of NAD+: an old metabolite controlling new metabolic signaling pathways. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20007326/
[8] Mitochondrial oxidative capacity and NAD(+) biosynthesis are reduced in human sarcopenia across ethnicities. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31862890/
[9] Nicotinamide riboside alleviates exercise intolerance in ANT1-deficient mice. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35940554/
[10] NAD precursors cycle between host tissues and the gut microbiome. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36476934/
[11] Simultaneous quantification of 26 NAD-related metabolites in plasma, blood, and liver tissue using UHPLC-MS/MS https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34648806/
[12] Nicotinamide Phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) as a Therapeutic Target in BRAF-Mutated Metastatic Melanoma. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29309612/
[13] Metabolic fate of extracellular NAD in human skin fibroblasts. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11135366/

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I follow published NAD+ research from cellular chemistry to physical performance here; NAD Plus Energy is an editorial site, not a business or a source of medical advice.