Scientists have discovered a new way to slow down the aging of cells

In a new study published in the journal Nature CommunicationsScientists have described a new way to delay aging. The secret lies in the stress responses that cells use. The experiment was conducted on some types of worms.

In the study, scientists activated this stress response by feeding the worms a high-glucose diet, which extended their lifespan compared to worms fed a regular diet. It is the first time that a link between this stress response and aging has been discovered.

“Aging is a critical risk factor for a variety of human diseases, from metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. From a public health perspective, identifying the cellular pathways that support the aging process could take us a step closer to developing new therapeutic strategies to treat age-related disorders. “.

In addition to demonstrating the effect of manipulating this stress response in old worms, the scientists also showed that the same response, when it “switched off” in young worms fed a high-glucose diet, helped them live longer than others.

What happens is that cells produce a stress response when stress factors (such as excess glucose) cause problematic proteins to build up in the cell. But aging can also lead to a buildup of protein due to a natural decrease in a cell’s ability to make healthy proteins, resulting in the same stress response.

To investigate how the unfolded protein response affects longevity, the scientists induced Caenorhabditis elegans, which depends on many of the same genes that humans use to control cell division and program defective cells to die.

They found that one of the stress sensors, IRE1, was significantly more active in young worms than in old worms. However, more studies are needed to understand the relationship between stress response and aging.

source: Nature Communications Across Science Blog