Life extension: the opinion of a well-informed optimist
How young we will beKarina Nazaretyan, newspaper "Action", 07.12.2009
After the announcement of this year's Nobel laureates in medicine, they started talking about the fight against aging with renewed vigor. Some scientists promise people immortality in 20 years. Others are skeptical. The Action talked about the chances of eternal life with scientist Oleg Glotov.
Oleg Glotov, 30 years old. Candidate of Biological Sciences, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Prenatal Diagnostics of Hereditary Human Diseases of the D. O. Ott Research Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (St. Petersburg).
– Please tell us: what are the theories of aging today?– There are quite a lot of theories of aging now.
One was proposed by Alexey Olovnikov at the time – it's called the telomeric theory. It was based on the fact that certain sections of human chromosomes – telomeres – shorten over the course of life. But after the discovery of stem cells, it became clear that this is not the cause of aging. Indeed, there are telomeres and they shorten, but this is not related to aging.
Another theory is free-radical. It lies in the fact that free radicals – the active forms of the oxygen molecule – are capable of damaging cells. With age, more and more of these damages occur, they accumulate, the cell ages, and the body with it.
There is a mitochondrial theory. It is based on the fact that in the human genome, in addition to genomic DNA – the one contained in the cell nucleus – there is also so-called mitochondrial DNA. It is not contained in the nucleus, but is in the cell in a free form. Mitochondria are responsible for energy production. There are a lot of the same free radical reactions that contribute, among other things, to cell damage. And it is believed that with age, mutations in mitochondria accumulate more and more, because they divide endlessly (or as a result of division), and eventually the accumulation of these mutations is critical for the cell, the cell dies, and the body ages with it.
The hypothesis on the basis of which my dissertation was written is the hypothesis of the so–called weak link. In a nutshell, this is due to a genetic predisposition. For example, a certain genetic marker has been identified in a person that predisposes to cardiovascular pathology. If a person leads an unsuitable lifestyle, then this pathology will develop earlier. And if he is regularly examined, etc., he will be able to "stretch" a little more with a certain genotype.
– In 2007, you received the prize of the Gerontological Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the best work on gerontology among young scientists. What kind of work was it?– The prize was awarded to me and my colleague from Ufa.
Both works were on predisposition genetics, we studied genetic markers in different age groups. And, in general, they came to almost the same opinion, although the genes were different. We came to the conclusion that the weak link theory really works.
– And what is the practical use of this research?– The fact that a person, knowing the peculiarities of his genome, can live in harmony with his genes.
He does not put this knowledge on a shelf somewhere, but reads his genome like a book. Let's say a person is 40 years old. He looks: there is no genetic predisposition to cardiovascular pathology. So, at the age of 40, he can not reduce physical activity, be checked no more often than usual. And another person reads: I am 40 years old, I have a risk of a heart attack – he needs to think about his health, do an ECG, check the lipid spectrum, homocysteine, and some other markers that may be signs of an approaching heart attack.
– Is it easy to do such a genome study in Russia today?– Now there are many organizations that offer such research.
Research on the largest number of genetic markers is done at our institute in St. Petersburg.
– Is it expensive?– From 300 rubles to 30 thousand.
Depends on how many markers you are studying. Roughly speaking, one marker is 300 rubles, 100 markers are 30 thousand. But the more markers you study, the more you understand the relationship of these markers. A person will be examined for various markers – biochemical, genetic, something else will be looked at, an ECG will be done - and only together, when a competent doctor processes information, he can tell exactly what a person is in danger of aging. But unfortunately, there are very few such specialists in our country. There are some doctors who understand "anti-aging" – in St. Petersburg, in Moscow... and in other cities, I have not even heard of such specialists.
– Why do some people age earlier, others later?– You know, they tried to find the "aging gene", but they never found it.
Probably, it should not be – so as to say unequivocally: this person will age earlier, and this one later. One can only say that this person's risk of the disease can lead to something, then he will age before another person.
There's also, you see, a lot of things tied to the literacy of the study. All these studies should primarily take place on twins. Gemini is a unique model that helps to separate hereditary components from non–hereditary ones. But the human genome has been deciphered quite recently, and such studies – in order to conduct and see throughout a person's life – will not appear very soon. But I have a twin brother, also a geneticist - we observe all this on each other…
– Are you experimenting on yourself?!– The whole life is an experiment (laughs).
– Can you explain in a popular way why they gave the Nobel Prize in Medicine this year?– These guys isolated the telomerase enzyme based on Olovnikov's predictions and showed that telomerase works.
These shortened parts of the chromosomes are completed, and the chromosome begins to function again. It contains certain genes that repress the formation of tumors. And if we consider this option: the chromosome was normal, full–sized telomeres - the tumor did not develop. Then the telomeres shorten with each cycle – and if the telomerase enzyme does not work, then the genes that allow the growth of tumors begin to activate (not block).
By the way, my colleagues here explained to me why the prize was not given to Olovnikov, because it is given for practical results, but not for theories…
– British gerontologist Aubrey de Grey believes that in 20 years, with sufficient funding for research, scientists will be able to extend a person's life up to 1000 years. How do you feel about this?– I've heard that nonsense too.
In humans, the biological age is determined by 120-125 years. Someone will break out of this norm, but in principle, such an age is laid down, and it is simply unrealistic to make it bigger.
– It turns out that there are scientists who believe that aging is a program that can be canceled, and immortality is possible, but you think it's impossible, right?- Yes.
In any case, on such a large scale – 10 times… You see, the simpler the body, the easier it is to prolong its life. Nematodes manage to prolong life by 10 times. In the mouse – already only a few times, in even more complex organisms – by 10-30% maximum. If we take the average age of a person – 70 years, then 30% can be added to these 70 years. What do we get? We get even less than 120 years…
– And when do you think it will be possible to increase it to 120?– The goal here is not even to increase the overall life expectancy, but, most importantly, the quality of life.
It is better to live 100 years qualitatively than to live 120, and of these, the last 30 years are unclear how. And when – well, I think in 50 years they will come close to 120 years.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru12.01.2010