We stop growing and multiplying – we move on to prolonging life!
In experiments on Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms, researchers at the Buck Institute for Aging Problems (California, USA), working under the guidance of Dr. Pankaj Kapahi, showed that the suppression of the activity of a specific translation factor of informational RNA (mRNA) in the body of adult worms leads to the launch of a genome-wide reaction that increases the expression of specific genes involved in the reaction the body's response to stress. This observation may explain why the manipulation carried out by scientists prolongs the life of worms by 40%.
To date, experts already know several so-called "longevity genes" present in the genome of many species. However, the mechanisms of action of these genes are largely unclear. According to Kapahi, most of the work on the study of these genes is devoted to deciphering the mechanisms of transcription – the first stage of protein synthesis, when the corresponding mRNA is synthesized on DNA containing genetic information. The authors decided to take a different path: they turned their attention to the process of translation – synthesis of an amino acid chain encoded in the sequence of mRNA nucleotides.
As an object of study, the researchers chose the translation factor IFG-1, which plays an important role in the growth and development of the body and has a correspondence in human cells – the eIF4G gene. Suppression of the activity of this factor in the body of worms after they reached adulthood triggered large-scale changes in the activity of the genome, leading to a change in the profile of mRNAs translated by ribosomes. The result of the increase in the activity of genes involved in the development of stress reactions was a kind of redistribution of the body's resources in the direction of preserving somatic cells. In other words, the suppression of IFG-1 expression switches the body from the growth and reproduction mode to the life extension mode.
Analysis of the genes involved in the identified mechanism showed that the observed translation changes are manifested by an increase in the length of certain mRNAs.
According to the researchers, the main purpose of their work is to decipher the biological foundations of aging. They plan to continue searching for molecular targets that can be used to develop drugs that suppress the development of age-related diseases and increase the duration of a healthy human life.
The article Aric N. Rogers Lifespan extension via eIF4G inhibition is mediated by post-transcriptional remodeling of stress response gene expression in C. elegans was published on July 6 in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the Buck Institute for Age Research – Researchers Flip the Switch Between Aging and Development in C. elegans.
07.07.2011