Aging cellJul 21, 2026

Different impacts of Nicotinamide Riboside and Intense Exercise on Age-Related Changes in Muscle DNA

Longevity & Aging Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jul 23, 2026

Abstract

Nicotinamide riboside supplementation was associated with reduced muscle epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) over 5 months.

NR supplementation led to lower muscle EAA, especially when assessed with specific epigenetic clocks.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) increased EAA in certain measurements, particularly the DunedinPACE clock.
Changes in skeletal muscle mitochondrial content correlated with alterations in EAA derived from the MEAT clock after NR and HIIT.
The findings suggest that NR and HIIT may influence skeletal muscle epigenetic aging in opposing ways.
Further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms by which NR and exercise affect epigenetic aging.

Simplified

Aging is accompanied by a decline in physiological function and increased vulnerability to disease, with mitochondrial dysfunction and epigenetic alterations recognized as key hallmarks. Nicotinamide riboside (NR), a vitamin B3 precursor to NAD⁺, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) have both been proposed to ameliorate aging-related mitochondrial decline, but their effects on skeletal muscle epigenetic aging are not fully elucidated. Here, we assessed the impact of 5-month NR supplementation and 4-6 weeks HIIT on epigenetic age acceleration (EAA, via seven epigenetic clocks) in human skeletal muscle across three independent studies. NR supplementation was associated with reduced muscle EAA, particularly when measured with the PCHannum, MEAT, and DunedinPACE clocks, while HIIT produced opposite effects in some clocks, notably increasing pace of aging by DunedinPACE. Correlation analyses revealed that changes in skeletal muscle mitochondrial content correlated with changes in MEAT-derived EAA after NR and 6 weeks of HIIT. Together, these findings indicate that skeletal muscle epigenetic aging can be modulated by NR and HIIT interventions but in opposing directions, highlighting a potential link between mitochondrial abundance and epigenetic clocks. Further studies are warranted to clarify how NR and exercise regulate epigenetic aging. These results offer new insights into development of strategies for promoting epigenetic outcomes and healthy aging.