(Press-News.org) As we age, our cells change and become damaged. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging have shown that aging is determined not only by the accumulation of changes during our lifetime but also by the genes we acquire from our mothers. The results of the study are published in the journal Nature.
There are many causes of aging that are determined by an accumulation of various kinds of changes that impair the function of bodily organs. Of particular importance in aging, however, seems to be the changes that occur in the cell's power plant – the mitochondrion. This structure is located in the cell and generates most of the cell's supply of ATP which is used as a source of chemical energy.
"The mitochondria contains their own DNA, which changes more than the DNA in the nucleus, and this has a significant impact on the aging process," said Nils-Göran Larsson, Ph.D., professor at the Karolinska Institutet and principal investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, and leader of the current study alongside Lars Olson, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Karolinska Institutet. "Many mutations in the mitochondria gradually dis-able the cell's energy production," said Larsson.
For the first time, the researchers have shown that the aging process is influenced not only by the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage during a person's lifetime, but also by the inherited DNA from their mothers.
"Surprisingly, we also show that our mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own aging," said Larsson. "If we inherit mDNA with mutations from our mother, we age more quickly."
Normal and damaged DNA is passed down between generations. However, the question of whether it is possible to affect the degree of mDNA damage through lifestyle intervention is yet to be investigated. All that the researchers know now is that mild DNA damage transferred from the mother contributes to the aging process.
"The study also shows that low levels of mutated mDNA can have developmental effects and cause deformities of the brain," said lead author Jaime Ross, Ph.D., at the Karolinska Institutet.
"Our findings can shed more light on the aging process and prove that the mitochondria play a key part in aging; they also show that it's important to reduce the number of mutations," said Larsson.
"These findings also suggest that therapeutic interventions that target mitochondrial function may influence the time course of aging," said Barry Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., a co-author of the study from the Department of Neurosurgery at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is also a visiting professor at the Karolinska Institutet. "There are various dietary manipulations and drugs that can up-regulate mitochondrial function and/or reduce mitochondrial toxicity. An example would be antioxidants. This mouse model would be a 'platform' to test these drugs/diets," said Dr. Hoffer.
The data published in the paper come from experiments on mice. The researchers now intend to continue their work on mice, and on fruit flies, to investigate whether reducing the number of mutations can extend their lifespan.
### END
Study finds mother's genes can impact aging process
2013-08-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
A brighter method for measuring the surface gravity of distant stars
2013-08-22
Astronomers have found a clever new way to slice and dice the flickering light from a distant star in a way that reveals the strength of gravity at its surface.
That is important because a star's surface gravity is one of the key properties that astronomers use to calculate a star's physical properties and assess its evolutionary state.
The new technique can also be used to significantly improve estimates of the sizes of the hundreds of exoplanets that have been discovered in the last 20 years. Current estimates have uncertainties ranging from 50 percent to 200 percent. ...
New results from Daya Bay
2013-08-22
The international Daya Bay Collaboration has announced new results about the transformations of neutrinos - elusive, ghostlike particles that carry invaluable clues about the makeup of the early universe. The latest findings include the collaboration's first data on how neutrino oscillation – in which neutrinos mix and change into other "flavors," or types, as they travel – varies with neutrino energy, allowing the measurement of a key difference in neutrino masses known as "mass splitting."
"Understanding the subtle details of neutrino oscillations and other properties ...
Berlin researchers open a door for solid state physics
2013-08-22
Without the currently available plethora of X-ray methods, basic research in the physical sciences would be unthinkable. The methods are used in solid state physics, in the analysis of biological structures, and even art historians have X-rays to thank for many new insights. Now, scientists at the Helmholtz Center Berlin (HZB) have identified yet another area of application. The team around Dr. Martin Beye and Prof. Alexander Föhlisch was able to show that solids lend themselves to X-ray analysis based on nonlinear physical effects. Until now, this could only be done using ...
Warming Antarctic seas likely to impact on krill habitats
2013-08-22
Antarctic krill are usually less than 6 cm in length but their size belies the major role they play in sustaining much of the life in the Southern Ocean. They are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish.
Krill are known to be sensitive to sea temperature, especially in the areas where they grow as adults. This has prompted scientists to try to understand how they might respond to the effects of further climate change.
Using statistical models, a team of researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and Plymouth Marine Laboratory assessed ...
Researchers reveal hunter-gatherers' taste for spice
2013-08-22
Our early ancestors had a taste for spicy food, new research led by the University of York has revealed.
Archaeologists at York, working with colleagues in Denmark, Germany and Spain, have found evidence of the use of spices in cuisine at the transition to agriculture. The researchers discovered traces of garlic mustard on the charred remains of pottery dating back nearly 7,000 years.
The silicate remains of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) along with animal and fish residues were discovered through microfossil analysis of carbonised food deposits from pots found at ...
Researchers agree that Alzheimer's test results could be released to research participants
2013-08-22
PHILADELPHIA - A leading group of Alzheimer's researchers contends that, as biomarkers to detect signals of the disease improve at providing clinically meaningful information, researchers will need guidance on how to constructively disclose test results and track how disclosure impacts both patients and the data collected in research studies. A survey conducted by a group including experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that a majority of Alzheimer's researchers supported disclosure of results to study participants. The study ...
Shorter working hours do not guarantee happier workers
2013-08-22
A reduction in working hours does not necessarily mean happier employees, as it might merely be adding stress to their general working environment. This is according to a study by Robert Rudolf of Korea University, Seoul, that looks at the impact of South Korea's recently introduced Five-Day Working Policy. The paper, published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies, focuses on the overall individual and family happiness of married and co-residing couples living with children, and also assesses the impact of working hours on people's overall job and life satisfaction. ...
Antipsychotic drug use in children for mood/behavior disorders increases type 2 diabetes risk
2013-08-22
Prescribing of "atypical" antipsychotic medications to children and young adults with behavioral problems or mood disorders may put them at unnecessary risk for type 2 diabetes, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows.
Young people using medications like risperidone, quetiapine, aripiprazol and olanzapine led to a threefold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the first year of taking the drug, according to the study published Aug. 21 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
While other studies have shown an increased risk for type 2 diabetes associated ...
Putting sleep disorders to bed
2013-08-22
This news release is available in French. Overnight flights across the Atlantic, graveyard shifts, stress-induced insomnia are all prime culprits in keeping us from getting a good night's sleep. Thanks to new research from McGill University and Concordia University, however, these common sleep disturbances may one day be put to bed.
The rotation of the earth generates day and night. It also confers daily rhythms to all living beings. In mammals, something known as a "circadian clock" in the brain drives daily rhythms in sleep and wakefulness, feeding and metabolism, ...
NIH-funded scientists describe genesis, evolution of H7N9 influenza virus
2013-08-22
WHAT:
An international team of influenza researchers in China, the United Kingdom and the United States has used genetic sequencing to trace the source and evolution of the avian H7N9 influenza virus that emerged in humans in China earlier this year. The study, published today in Nature, was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, and other organizations.
Working in three Chinese provinces, researchers led by Yi Guan, Ph.D., of the University of Hong Kong collected samples from ...