human life expectancy it is relating to the aging of our cells, All organisms from yeast, plants and animals to our cells contain gene-regulating circuits that are responsible for many physiological functions. And one of these functions is aging.
In form of cells make copies of themselves, the information deteriorates (as if it were a photocopy of a photocopy), they lose properties and when they reach a certain point, they die. This is a natural mechanism to prevent incorrect operation. The mechanism is known as apoptosis (“cell suicide”) and if it does not occur it can lead to mutations or diseases such as cancer.
Several years ago, a multidisciplinary research team at the University of California San Diego, led by Nan Hao, began Study the mechanisms behind cellular aging. What they discovered was that cells go through a cascade of molecular changes throughout their lives until they finally degenerate and die.
But he also found that cells same genetic material and within the same environment They may travel along various “aging routes”. so to speak . About half of cells age through a gradual decline in the stability of DNA, where genetic information is stored. units of the other half-life, following the pathway associated with the degradation of mitochondria cell energy productionHis “battery”.
“These genetic circuit They can act like our household electrical circuits that control devices such as appliances and cars,” explains Hao. Announcement , Imagine a car that gets old because the engine wears out or the transmission wears out, but not both at the same time.”
With this data Hao’s team developed a “Intelligent Aging Process” What Increases Cell Longevity Through cyclic degradation from one aging mechanism to another. They basically switched the cells back and forth between one mechanism and the other.
In this StudyPublished in ‘Science’, the authors explain how Circuitry controlling aging genetically rewired The cell phone takes advantage of this function to act as a light switch or key. So they created a negative feedback loop to stop the aging process.
rewired circuit functions as a watch devicecalled genetic oscillators, which induces the cell to periodically switch between two harmful “aged” states, avoiding remaining in either of them for long periods of time, thus preventing cell degeneration reduces.
Copying the work of electrical engineers, Hao’s team used computer simulations to see how the aging circuitry works in the cell nucleus. that helped them design test ideas before building or modifying circuits, The advantage of this approach is save time and resources To identify effective life extension strategies in comparison to more traditional genetic strategies.
“This is the first time that computer-guided engineering and synthetic biology principles have been used to redesign genetic circuitry reprogram the aging process to effectively promote longevity,” says Hao. Our results establish a connection between the architecture of gene networks and cell longevity This may lead to rationally designed gene circuits that delay aging.”
In contrast to many chemical and genetic efforts push cells into artificial states of “young”New research provides evidence that it is possible to slow down the cellular clock by preventing cells from actively going down the path of degradation and death. As a result of these advances a dramatically extended cell lifeSetting a new benchmark for the extension of life through genetic and chemical interventions.
team during investigation Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells studied As a model for the aging of human cells. He developed and used microfluidics and time-lapse microscopy to track aging processes over the lifetime of a cell.
In the present study, yeast cells were synthetically reshaped and aged under the guidance of a synthetic oscillator device 82% increase in service life compared to control cells aged under normal conditions.
“Our oscillator cells – concludes Hao – are longer-lived than any of the longest-lived strains previously identified. This study is a proof of concept, demonstrating Successful Application of Synthetic Biology could lay the foundation for engineering synthetic gene circuits to reprogram the cellular aging process and effectively promote longevity in more complex organisms.”
At present, Hao’s team is already expanding your research for the aging of various human cell types, including stem cells and neurons. When will human trials start? There is still time for that, but perhaps thanks to this progress, we will achieve it.
