Figure 4. Rapamycin extends lifespan in flies consuming a low cholesterol diet (0.1 g/l) but had no effect when cholesterol level was increased to 0.3 g/l.

(a) There was no significant difference in lifespan amongst flies fed 0.3 g/l cholesterol, 0.3 g/l cholesterol + rapamycin or 0.1 g/l cholesterol + rapamycin, all of which were significantly longer lived than flies fed 0.1 g/l cholesterol (0.1 g/l v 0.3 g/l, p=0.014; 0.1 g/l v 0.1 g/l + rapamycin, p<0.001; 0.1 g/l v 0.3 g/l + rapamycin, p=0.002, log rank test). (b) Cumulative eggs laid were significantly reduced in flies treated with rapamycin (p<0.001, two-way ANOVA), and also significantly reduced when cholesterol was limited (p<0.001, two-way ANOVA).