Biologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered a gene that slows aging throughout the body by remotely activating it in key organ systems.
The life scientists activated a gene called AMPK, which is a key energy sensor in the cell, according to a report on Scienceda.com titled "Biologists Slow Aging by Remote Control."The gene is activated when the cell's energy levels drop.
The study found that increasing the amount of AMPK in the fly's gut increased the life span of the flies by about 30 percent, and the flies were also healthier.
David Walker, an associate professor of integrative biology and physiology at UCLA and senior author of the study, said the findings would have important implications for delaying aging and disease in humans.
Prolonging a healthy human lifespan requires the body's many organ systems to be protected from aging -- but anti-aging treatments for the brain or other key organs are technically difficult, Walker said. This study shows that activating AMPK in more accessible organs, such as the gut, can ultimately delay aging throughout the body, including the brain.
"Rather than studying age-related diseases one by one, we think it's possible to intervene in the aging process to delay the onset of many of these diseases," Walker said.
Walker notes that many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, are linked to the accumulation of a type of cellular waste in the brain.
Matthew Ulbright, a doctoral student and lead author of the study, focuses on a process called autophagy, which helps cells degrade and discard old, damaged cellular components. By discarding "cellular junk" before it damages cells, autophagy prevents senescence, and AMPK activates this process.
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