Scientists
at the MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists from the
Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, Calif., and Nanjing University
in China, have identified synergistic cellular pathways for longevity that
amplify lifespan fivefold in C. elegans, a
nematode worm used as a model in aging research.
The increase in lifespan would be
the equivalent of a human living for 400 or 500 years, according to one of the
scientists.
The research
draws on the discovery of two major pathways governing aging in C. elegans, which is a popular model in aging research
because it shares many of its genes with humans and because its short lifespan
of only three to four weeks allows scientists to quickly assess the effects of
genetic and environmental interventions to extend healthy lifespan.
Because these pathways are
“conserved,” meaning that they have been passed down to humans through
evolution, they have been the subject of intensive research. A number of drugs
that extend healthy lifespan by altering these pathways are now under
development. The discovery of the synergistic effect opens the door to even
more effective anti-aging therapies.
The new research uses a double
mutant in which the insulin signaling (IIS) and TOR pathways have been
genetically altered. Because alteration of the IIS pathways yields a 100
percent increase in lifespan and alteration of the TOR pathway yields a 30
percent increase, the double mutant would be expected to live 130 percent
longer. But instead, its lifespan was amplified by 500 percent.
“Despite the
discovery in C. elegans of cellular pathways that govern
aging, it hasn’t been clear how these pathways interact,” said Hermann Haller,
M.D., president of the MDI Biological Laboratory. “By helping to characterize
these interactions, our scientists are paving the way for much-needed therapies
to increase healthy lifespan for a rapidly aging population.”
The elucidation of the cellular
mechanisms controlling the synergistic response is the subject of a recent
paper in the online journal Cell Reports entitled “Translational Regulation of
Non-autonomous Mitochondrial Stress Response Promotes Longevity.” The authors
include Jarod A. Rollins, Ph.D., and Aric N. Rogers, Ph.D., of the MDI
Biological Laboratory.
“The synergistic extension is really
wild,” said Rollins, who is the lead author with Jianfeng Lan, Ph.D., of
Nanjing University. “The effect isn’t one plus one equals two, it’s one plus
one equals five. Our findings demonstrate that nothing in nature exists in a
vacuum; in order to develop the most effective anti-aging treatments we have to
look at longevity networks rather than individual pathways.”
The discovery of the synergistic
interaction could lead to the use of combination therapies, each affecting a
different pathway, to extend healthy human lifespan in the same way that
combination therapies are used to treat cancer and HIV, Pankaj Kapahi, Ph.D.,
of the Buck Institute, has said. Kapahi is a corresponding author of the paper
with Rogers and Di Chen, Ph.D., of Nanjing University.
The synergistic interaction may also
may explain why scientists have been unable to identify a single gene
responsible for the ability of some people to live to extraordinary old ages
free of major age-related diseases until shortly before their deaths.
The paper focuses on how longevity
is regulated in the mitochondria, which are the organelles in the cell
responsible for energy homeostasis. Over the last decade, accumulating evidence
has suggested a causative link between mitochondrial dysregulation and aging.
Rollins’ future research will focus on the further elucidation of the role of
mitochondria in aging, he said.
Source: https://myfusimotors.com/2020/01/11/pathways-that-extend-lifespan-by-500-percent-identified/
No comments:
Post a Comment