The role of iron in aging: new data
Experts have long known that a number of metals, including iron, accumulate in the tissues of an aging organism. Moreover, the relationship between toxic iron levels and the development of neurological diseases, including Parkinson's disease, was revealed. Traditionally, it was believed that the accumulation of iron is the result of the aging process. However, experiments on roundworms Caenorhabditis elegans, conducted by scientists of the Buck Institute for the Study of Aging, working under the direction of Dr. Gordon Lithgow, showed that the accumulation of iron, on the contrary, makes a significant contribution to the aging process, causing malfunctions and improper folding of protein molecules involved in this process.
First, the authors found that the body of aging nematodes, as well as the organisms of aging mammals, is characterized by an increase in the levels of calcium, copper, iron and manganese. The most pronounced in this case was the process of iron accumulation. This attracted the attention of scientists, as there is a large amount of literature data linking the concentration of this metal with the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
The introduction of 5-day-old iron nematodes in the form of iron-ammonium citrate (double salts of iron citric acid and ammonium citric acid) into the diet for a couple of days aged them to a state typical of 15-day age. It is believed that excess iron causes oxidative stress, but in this case what was happening to the worms looked like normal aging. Iron disrupted the functioning and caused the aggregation of proteins, whose role in the aging process has long been known.
After that, the researchers introduced the calcium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (CaEDTA), a drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), into the diet of normal nematodes. Due to its ability to chelate (bind in the form of complex compounds) metal ions, it is used to treat suspected poisoning by them, including mercury, lead and iron. This slowed down the age-related accumulation of iron and increased life expectancy, as well as the duration of healthy life of nematodes. The introduction of the drug into the diet of worms genetically predisposed to aggregation of proteins involved in the development of age-related diseases also had a positive effect on their health and life expectancy.
The authors believe that the data they have obtained are important for understanding the mechanisms of aging. Maintaining normal concentrations of metals in the body is the key to maintaining good health throughout life. Obviously, as we age, this delicate balance is disturbed.
At the same time, researchers warn against taking calcium chelate EDTA and other available metallochelates as aging-slowing additives, since the mechanisms of their action are not fully clear and their use can cause dangerous side effects. Pay attention to the brown line on the graph from the article in Aging (the percentage of nematodes that survived by the corresponding day at different doses of the drug): just four times exceeding the optimal dosage turns the medicine into poison.
The researchers plan to search for new metallochelates that have the ability to bind excess metals without harm to the body, and study their effectiveness in mice.
Article by Ida M. Klang et al. Iron promotes protein insolubility and aging in C. Elegans is published in the journal Aging.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging:
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20.01.2015