Mitophagy – a cure for old age
An effective way to defeat aging has been found
Researchers from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California have found a new way to eliminate cell damage that accumulates with age. It consists in removing mutated DNA from mitochondria. The scientists' article was published in the journal Nature Communications (Kandul et al., Selective removal of deletion-bearing mitochondrial DNA in heteroplasmic Drosophila). The publication Medicalexpress (Turning back the aging clock) briefly tells about the opening.
In every cell of the human body (with the exception of red blood cells) there are hundreds or thousands of mitochondria. These organelles are involved in the production of energy needed for metabolic reactions. They also contain DNA (mtDNA), from which the mitochondrial genome is formed. Since the mechanisms of genome repair in organelles are not as well developed as in the nucleus, both mutated mtDNA and normal mtDNA are often located in the same cell. When the genetic differences reach a critical level, the cell dies.
Scientists have bred genetically modified fruit flies (Drosophila), whose mitochondrial genome in muscle cells is subject to random mutations. Changes in mtDNA affect muscles, reducing the ability of insects to fly, which makes drosophila a convenient model organism for studying aging processes. In humans, age-related processes also affect muscle function, causing sarcopenia and other disorders.
Cells can get rid of damaged mtDNA through the process of mitophagy, in which defective mitochondria are destroyed. The researchers found that when they stimulated the genes responsible for mitophagy, sections of DNA whose analogues contribute to the development of Parkinson's disease in humans decreased their activity. Thus, overexpression of the Parkin gene reduces the proportion of mutant mtDNA from 76 to 5 percent. According to scientists, this makes it possible to normalize cellular processes.
The authors of the article plan to search for drugs that could cause the same effect. Researchers believe that in the future, people will be able to periodically undergo cellular cleansing procedures to remove damaged mtDNA from the brain, muscles and other tissues.
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22.11.2016