Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory, in collaboration with the Buck Institute for Aging Research in Novato (California) and Nanjing University (China), have synergizedcellular pathwaysidentified for longevity that could extend life. The “Caenorhabditis Elegans,” a nematode worm, that was examined served as a model that enables a fivefold increase in lifespan. According to one scientist, extending lifespan would correspond to a life expectancy of 400 or 500 years.
Can science extend our lives?
The research relies on the discovery of two main pathways that control aging in the worm. This is a popular model in aging research because it shares many of its genes with humans. Because of its short lifespan of just three to four weeks, scientists can quickly assess the impact of genetic and environmental interventions to extend a healthy lifespan.
Because evolution has passed these pathways on to humans, scientists have studied them intensively. A number of drugs that extend life expectancy by altering these pathways are currently in development. The discovery of the synergistic effect opens the door to even more effective onesAnti Aging Therapien.
The new research uses a double mutant in which insulin signal transduction and the gate pathway are genetically altered. Since changing the pathways to a 100 percent increase in lifespan results in a 30 percent increase, the double mutant is expected to have a 130 percent increaselives longer. Instead, the lifespan has increased by 500 percent.
“Despite the discovery of such cellular mechanisms that control aging, it was not clear how these pathways work together in the subject studied,” said Dr. med. Hermann Haller, Chairman of the MDI Biological Laboratory. “By helping to characterize these interactions, our scientists are paving the way for much-needed therapies to extend life expectancy in a rapidly aging population.”
New research results
“The synergistic expansion is really wild,” said Rollins, the lead author at Jianfeng Lan, Ph.D., of Nanjing University. “The effect is not one plus one equals two, but one plus one equals five. Our results show that nothing in nature exists in a vacuum. To be the most effectiveDevelop anti-aging treatments, we need to look at networks of longevity rather than individual pathways. “
The discovery of the synergistic interaction could lead to the use of combination therapies. These each take a different approach to extending human life expectancy in the same way that combination therapies are used to treat cancer and HIV. The synergistic interaction may also explain why scientists have not yet been able to identify a single gene responsible for the ability of some people to live to extraordinary ages without serious age-related diseases until shortly before their death.
The article deals with the regulation of life expectancy in the mitochondria. These are the organelles in the cell that are responsible for energy homeostasis. Over the past decade, accumulating evidence has suggested a causal link between mitochondrial dysregulation and aging. Rollins' future research will focus on further elucidating the role of mitochondria in aging.
You can find out more about the studyhereread.
