Berlin.
A certain process in the body changes with age. Does this new knowledge open up the chance of a longer life?
The aging is a highly complex process. Science has been trying to decipher this for decades – with the aim of prolonging life or enabling healthy aging. Researchers from Germany have now discovered the changes in a cellular process that influence aging. In the distant future, this could result in an approach to slowing it down.
To explain the results of the study presented in the journal “Nature” been published, it needs some basic knowledge of Biology: Every human or animal cell contains the entire genetic material (DNA). In order to execute the program encoded there, a prerequisite for life and health, the DNA is constantly being read out. The process in which cell type and function is also determined is called transcription.
Aging: The increased pace led to errors in the process
“The constant reading of the genes is essential, also for the adaptation of the Organism to environmental influences or as a reaction to diseases,” explains Andreas Beyer in an interview with this editorial team. Beyer is a professor of systems biology from the University of Cologne and one of the authors of the study. Also read:Quite simply – this is how you become a hundred years old today
In five organisms – human, nematode, fruit fly, mouse and rat – Beyer and colleagues investigated how transcription is influenced by age. “We found out that the speed of the reading process increases with age,” says Beyer. This in turn was associated with a loss Quality and accuracy. “We saw more discrepancies between reading and reference genome. This reduced reading quality means that the cells no longer function properly.”
Life expectancy: Animals with a mutation lived longer than their conspecifics without a mutation
The crucial question, however, was whether these changes can also affect lifespan. To find out, the scientists tracked the survival of and worms that carried a gene mutation that caused the transcription slowed down. According to the study, these animals lived ten to 20 percent longer than their peers without the mutation. When the researchers reversed the gene mutations, i.e. increased the rate of transcription, the animals died earlier. “This established a causal connection,” says Beyer.
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The researchers also looked at other interventions already known to extend the lifespan of organisms, such as reduced calorie intake. They were able to show that these external influences also reduce the reading speed of genes. “Of course it’s tempting to assume that we’ll just medication can develop that slow down aging. But I would be very careful there,” says Beyer. In theory, at least, this is conceivable.
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