Share:
Scientists find special genes for a longer life
"How are we getting old?" Science has not been able to give a clear answer to this question so far. But now a team of Swiss and German researchers has gained new, interesting insights. Accordingly, the "bcat-1 gene" was found to be particularly influential in screening the genomes of three model organisms. Because this is blocked, the average lifespan of the experimental animals increased. The researchers published their findings in the journal "Nature Communications".
Aging has always been an interesting topic
With the question of how exactly the aging process is going on, humanity has been working for centuries - in the hope of developing a "secret recipe" for eternal youth and health. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and a research consortium in Jena ("JenAge") may now have found an important answer. Because according to a recent communication from the ETH, the scientists have succeeded in finding in a "haystack" of 40,000 genes from three different organisms genes that are involved in physical aging.
"Forever Young", an old dream of mankind is not completely impossible, as a new research showed. Image: Spectral design - fotolia As the University reports, the researchers systematically searched the genomes of three different organisms for genes that are related to the aging process and occur in all three species - and thus descended from a common ancestor. In order to detect these so-called "orthologous genes" - all of which also occur in humans - the researchers carried out a screening of around 40,000 genes of the roundworm "Caenorhabditis elegans" (in short: C. elegans), the zebrafish and the mouse. The aim was to find out which genes showed the same activity in all three organisms in the four comparable age-groups "young", "adult", "middle-aged" and "old" and, accordingly, are either up-regulated or down-regulated on an age-related basis.
Organisms have only 30 genes in common
To measure gene activity, researchers used the amount of messenger RNA molecules they found in the cells of these animals. The messenger RNA (English: mRNA) brings the genetic information from the nucleus to the place in the cell where the proteins are formed ("ribosomes"). If many copies of a messenger RNA of a particular gene are present, this is very active and the gene accordingly "upregulated", explains the lead author of the study, Professor Michael Ristow of the ETH Zurich. On the other hand, few RNA copies would thus indicate a low activity and accordingly a "downregulated" gene.
Based on the information obtained, an intersection of genes was then formed on the basis of statistical models, which were comparably regulated in all three animals, the university reports. It turned out that the three organisms had only 30 genes in common, which are crucially involved in the aging process. By partially blocking the messenger RNA of the corresponding genes, the researchers were finally able to explain how they affect the aging process using the threadworm as an example.
In a dozen of these genes, blocking resulted in at least a five-percent increase in life, with the bcat-1 gene proving to be particularly influential. "If we blocked the effect of this gene, the mean lifespan of the roundworm increased markedly, namely by up to 25 percent," explains Prof. Ristow.
Nematodes stay vital longer
According to the university, the researchers also succeeded in elucidating the mechanism of action of the bcat-1 gene. Accordingly, it carries the code for the eponymous enzyme, which degrades certain naturally occurring in the diet protein components (amino acids) such as L-leucine, L-isoleucine and L-valine. When the scientists blocked the activity of the bcat-1 gene, these amino acids accumulated in the tissue, triggering a molecular signaling cascade that in turn contributed positively to lifespan in nematode worms. But not only that, because in addition, the time was extended in which the worms remained healthy, so the message. The researchers measured this by the enrichment of age-related pigments, the rate of locomotion and the frequency of successful reproduction - because in all areas improved by the inhibition of the bcat-1 gene.
The same mechanism also happens in humans
According to Ristow, it can be assumed that these findings are not only valid for the organisms studied: "We looked only for the genes that are evolutionarily conserved and therefore occur in all organisms, including humans," he says. The effects on humans would not have been the focus of the current study, but a follow-up study is already in progress. "However, for obvious reasons we can not measure life expectancy in humans," says the ETH Zurich professor. Instead, the researchers plan to use different health parameters, such as cholesterol or blood sugar levels, to make statements about the health status of subjects.
Prolong phase of healthy life
According to Ristow, the multi-branched amino acids are already used therapeutically for liver damage and are also part of sports nutrition: "The topic is not that people get older, but stay healthy longer," says the internist. In view of demographic change and the aging society, it would not be important to reach an age that is ever higher, but characterized by chronic diseases.
However, the current study provides important clues as to how future aging will affect and thereby prevent age-related diseases such as aging. Diabetes or high blood pressure could be prevented. This would not only significantly increase the quality of life of older people, but also reduce the cost of medical care by more than half, the researchers predict. (No)