Scientists Reverse Aging In Human Cell Lines

Eloking writes: Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi from the University of Tsukuba in Japan has discovered the regulation of two genes involved with the production of glycine are partly responsible for some of the characteristics of aging. With this finding he has been able to "flip the switches on a few genes back to their youthful position, effectively reversing the aging process." The Professor's findings cast doubt on the mitochondrial theory of aging, which proposes that the accumulation of mutations in the mitochondrial DNA are responsible for aging.

Comments

I used to work there

[Applehu Akbar]

I wrote a PL/I compiler for Tsukuba's IT department. Yes, that was a long time ago. The university stood alone among rice fields at the time; now it's the centerpiece of Tsukuba Science City, which researches a little of everything.

epigenetics

[phantomfive]

The scientists compared cells from 80-97 year olds, and kids under age 12. From the article:

As expected, the older cells had reduced cellular respiration, but the older cells did not show more DNA damage than those from children. This discovery led the team to propose that the reduced cellular function is tied to epigenetic regulation,

So it seems like the aging process of reduced cellular respiration comes from gene expression, that is, which genes are active, rather than their inability to perform.

Re:epigenetics

[TechyImmigrant]

Why not try an all meat diet? Smarter people than you do: http://www.jbc.org/content/87/...

200mg of liver every day for dinner is not my idea of enjoyable eating. Anyway, have you tried it? Has it worked out for you?

That's not my idea of a fun diet. Liver is ok. It's excellent when if it's from a well fed goose. Escargot are awesome. It worked out well. Steaks, eggs, roasts, chicken livers cooked in milk, much bacon. It's not expensive since you don't eat as much. It's energy and nutrient dense. I lost a lot of weight, all blood markers improved dramatically. It's hard to keep it up because it's simply hard to do when you aren't cooking all your own meals. My workplace canteen has no non-carb food offerings. Rice, potatoes and wheat is cheap. So I go back on it hard core when I need to recover the ability to fit into the skinnier jeans. But I'm too lazy to cook and pack a lunch every day, year after year. You need to keep in mind that it's a high fat diet, not a high protein diet. No one can eat a predominantly protein diet. It's not possible. Mostly fat, some meat, no carbs.

Re:epigenetics

[DigiShaman]

The blood of young virgin women; the kind pent up with sexual frustration. THAT's what keeps a man young! :)

Overly optimistic article

[Anonymous Coward]

It's certainly possible that, as a person gets older, epigenetic regulation of (nuclear encoded) mitochondrial genes can get messed up in a way that impairs mitochondrial function.

But lots of things get messed up as a person gets older. Obviously a person accumulates a lot of damage that never gets repaired - e.g. because the repair mechanisms that would be needed don't even exist. But a person's cells are also on this amazing developmental program that takes a person from a single cell to full adult. While much of this program shuts down once a person reaches adulthood, there are almost certainly parts of this developmental pathway that continue to operate at a low level - slowly causing changes that over time increasingly make a person less healthy.

Bottom line, there ain't no silver bullet on aging. Eventually it will be possible to design a new species that looks and acts human but that has the necessary repair mechanisms and developmental programs to be able to live indefinitely. And humanity may then choose to (voluntarily) go extinct allowing themselves to replaced by this new species. But any such species would be vastly different genetically than modern humans. Living forever is fundamentally and pervasively incompatible with our genetics.

Re:Overly optimistic article

[Pentium100]

Would it not be possible to repair the genes? If DNA gets messed up, why not keep a backup with multiple copies and (important) checksums to refresh the copies stored in the cells once in a while so it does not become too corrupt? The DNA is a few gigabytes IIRC, easily stored in a small chip.

Now, currently I do not know of a way to actually repair the DNA in cells, but maybe at some time in the future some smart people figure this out...

Re:What is responsible for aging?

[penguinoid]

Time

No, irreparable damage. Note that what is irreparable depends on level of technology.

Examples of potentially irreparable damage: DNA damage, oxidative damage, toxin accumulation, damage to extracellular matrix, scarring, changes in gene activity, and more.

Note: Your cell line has lived for about 3,600,000,000 years. The trick to living 3,600,000,000 years is to repair damage faster than it occurs, for example by reproducing cells at sufficient rate that new undamaged material is created faster than damage accumulates.

Re:Collapse

[rednip]

Actually, without any 'enforcement' at all, the average woman in the U.S has a fertility rate of 1.6, which is actually less than the replacement rate need for a stable population even if we eliminate old age. If it wasn't for immigration we'd be losing population. Virtually all 'advanced economies' are the same.