Targets for old age pills
Scientists study the genetics of healthy longevity
Irina Usyk, "Scientific Russia"
Some time ago we told how scientists of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, using the method of the main genetic components created by them, together with European colleagues studied the genetic component of chronic musculoskeletal pain. Next, the group decided to apply the developed methods to study the genetics of healthy longevity, the results of the work are published in Nature Aging (Timmers et al., Mendelian randomization of genetically independent aging phenotypes identifies LPA and VCAM1 as biological targets for human aging).
The study was conducted on the basis of three large biobanks: the biobank of Great Britain, Finland and Japan, each of which contains information about the genomes of more than half a million volunteers who provided complete information about their health and body condition. "In this work, we combined six signs related to aging, such as longevity, the life expectancy of the father and mother, the duration of a healthy period of life, and others. And we identified 27 regions (loci) of the genome associated with the common genetic component of these traits," said Yakov Tsepilov, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Recombination and Segregation Analysis of ICIG SB RAS.
One of the most important aspects of the work is that two loci out of 27 were replicated based on samples from Finnish and Japanese biobanks. This means that these loci are associated with aging in populations living in different parts of the planet. To understand, there are about five such "universal" and replicated loci associated with aging. Therefore, this study significantly increases the number of such loci known to scientists.
In the second part of the project, scientists studied the relationship between the concentration of 857 different proteins in human blood plasma and the aging process using the Mendelian randomization method. "This method allows us to establish causal relationships, in other words, to understand what was primary and what was secondary. Does the concentration of this protein change with age or, conversely, its change becomes one of the mechanisms that reduce life expectancy," Yakov Tsepilov stressed.
Such a study is much more complicated, but it is of great importance in terms of finding promising new targets for drugs that prolong human life. As a result, scientists were able to identify two proteins, a decrease in the concentration of which in the body leads to an increase in human life expectancy. In fact, the researchers believe, there may be many more such potential targets. And the method of genetic components used in the work will greatly facilitate their search in the future.
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