Anti-aging breakthrough dials down fatty acid signaling to promote longevity
Scientists studying the complex mechanics behind the human aging process have made a discovery that could lead to improved health later in life. The breakthrough comes courtesy of a common model in anti-aging research as the C. elegans roundworm, scientists demonstrated that dialing down a form of fatty acid signaling can significantly improve their lifespan.
The research was led by Dr. Meng Wang of Baylor College of Medicine, who was inspired by his grandmother to study longevity and the aging process, which lived to the ages of 95 and 100 and appeared to have no Significant health problems did so.
“Neither were ill, and why they died remains a mystery,” she said. “It makes me feel like there is some secret to longevity, and if we can study it, maybe we can use the knowledge and apply it to everyone.”
Wang’s work over the past seven years has focused on the relationship between longevity and lysosomes, which are small sacs found in cells that are responsible for breaking down and disposing of waste products. The role of lysosomes in age-related disease, especially when they begin to deteriorate, has come into focus among scientists seeking next-generation treatments for everything from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, cancer.
“This explains why research on lysosomes and longevity has begun in recent years,” said Dr., a biophysicist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Said Xiaochen Wang, who specializes in lysosomes. “Scientists have known for more than 50 years that proteins, lipids and other molecules accumulate in older cells, but only now are people paying more attention to these pieces of data.”
In the midst of all the research into the function of the lysosome and its relationship with aging, scientists are beginning to uncover a distinct role for these cellular recycling centers, which is to communicate messages about the state of the cell. This includes things like glucose and stress levels, but Meng Wang has also found that it also contains specific anti-aging molecules. In 2015, his team showed that one of these molecules is released from the lysosome and sent to the cell nucleus, the effect of which in C. elegans roundworm’s lifespan.
These insects are a valuable tool for anti-aging researchers because they share a similar genome and multiple cellular pathways with humans. Studies have shown that altering these pathways can significantly extend the lifespan of worms, laying the foundation for the discovery of anti-aging therapeutics in humans.
In their latest work, Wang and his team again studied signaling coming from lysosomes, and found that a fatty acid called dihomo-gamma-linoleic acid plays an important role. As it is produced by the lysosome, the fatty acid kickstarts a chain reaction of cellular messaging that leads to C. Extends the lifespan of elegans. Importantly, the scientists were then able to dial down fatty acid signaling to effectively control the lifespan of the worm, increasing it from an average of 17 days to between 20 and 25.
These signals that enable cells to “talk” to each other about aging indicate that lysosome molecules may play an influential role in coordinating aging throughout the organism, according to the team. Worm experiments showed that although the signal molecule originated in adipose tissue, it was received by cells elsewhere in the body.
“It really helps us understand how longevity is regulated at the whole organism level,” Wang said.
Wang and his colleagues would now like to build on these findings by discovering more lysosome molecules that influence the aging process, and exactly how they do so.
“The goal is not to have everyone live for centuries,” she said. “Rather for people to spend their last years healthy, active and independent – just like my grandmother. I’m passionate about learning how people and creatures maintain health over time.”
This research is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.
Source: Baylor College of Medicine
