(Press-News.org) There are many causes of ageing, a process that is determined by an accumulation of various kinds of cell damage that impair the function of bodily organs. Of particular importance to ageing, however, seems to be the damage that occurs in the cell's power plant – the mitochondrion.
"The mitochondrion contains its own DNA, which changes more than the DNA in the nucleus, and this has a significant impact on the ageing process," says Nils-Göran Larsson, professor at Karolinska Institutet and principal investigator at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, and leader of the current study alongside Professor Lars Olson at Karolinska Institutet. "Many mutations in the mitochondria gradually disable the cell's energy production."
Now, however, the researchers have shown that the ageing process is attributable not only to the accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage during a person's lifetime, but also to their maternally inherited DNA.
"Surprisingly, we also show that our mother's mitochondrial DNA seems to influence our own ageing," says Professor Larsson. "If we inherit mDNA with mutations from our mother, we age more quickly."
Normal and damaged DNA is passed down from generation to generation. However, the question of whether it is possible to affect the degree of mDNA damage through, for example, lifestyle intervention is yet to be investigated; all that the researchers know now is that mild DNA damage is transferred from the mother and contributes to the ageing process.
"The study also shows that low levels of mutated mDNA may have developmental effects and help to cause deformities of the brain", says Lars Olson, professor, Department of neuroscience.
"Our findings can shed more light on the ageing process and prove that the mitochondria play a key part in ageing; they also show that it's important to reduce the number of mutations," says Professor Larsson.
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.
###
Publication: "Germline mitochondrial DNA mutations aggravate ageing and can impair brain development", Jaime M. Ross, James B. Stewart, Erik Hagström, Stefan Brene, Arnaud Mourier, Giuseppe Coppotelli, Christoph Freyer, Marie Lagouge, Barry J. Hoffer, Lars Olson & Nils-Göran Larsson, Nature, online 21 August 2013, doi:10.1038/nature12474
View the scientific article: http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1038/nature12474
For further information, contact:
Professor Nils-Göran Larsson, consultant
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet
Tel: +46 (0)8 524 830 39 or +46 (0)70 209 71 55
Email: Nils-Goran.Larsson@ki.se
Professor Lars Olson,
Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
Tel: +46 (0)8 524 870 50 or +46 (0)70 670 33 88
Email: Lars.Olson@ki.se
Contact the Press Office and download press photos and images: http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp?l=en&d=298
Your mother's genes can hasten your own aging process
2013-08-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Bacteria make us feel pain… and suppress our immune response
2013-08-22
Boston, Mass., Aug. 21, 2013—The pain of invasive skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and possibly other serious, painful infections, appear to be induced by the invading bacteria themselves, and not by the body's immune response as previously thought, report scientists at Boston Children's Hospital. What's more, their research demonstrates that once the pain neurons "sense" the bacteria, they suppress the immune system, potentially helping the bacteria become more virulent.
The study, conducted in a mouse model and published online ...
Poor oral health linked to cancer-causing oral HPV infection
2013-08-22
PHILADELPHIA — Poor oral health, including gum disease and dental problems, was found to be associated with oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which causes about 40 percent to 80 percent of oropharyngeal cancers, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Poor oral health is a new independent risk factor for oral HPV infection and, to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine this association," said Thanh Cong Bui, Dr.P.H., postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Public ...
Half of all UK 7 year olds not exercising for recommended minimum
2013-08-22
Half of all UK seven year olds are sedentary for six to seven hours every day, and only half clock up the recommended daily minimum of moderate to vigorous physical activity, indicates research published in the online journal BMJ Open.
Girls, children of Indian ethnic origin, and those living in Northern Ireland are the least physically active of all seven year olds, the findings show.
The authors base their findings on a representative population sample of almost 7000 UK primary school children who were all part of the Millennium Cohort Study. This is tracking the ...
Flu jab may halve heart attack risk in middle aged with narrowed arteries
2013-08-22
The flu jab seems to almost halve the risk of heart attacks in middle aged people with narrowed arteries, finds research published in the journal Heart.
Those aged 50 to 64 are not currently routinely included in national flu vaccination programmes in either the UK or Australia. But the findings prompt the Australian authors to suggest that further exploration of extending the schedule may be warranted.
The researchers wanted to find out if flu is an unrecognised, but clinically important, contributing factor to increased heart attack risk. Published evidence suggests ...
How women achieve a healthier weight may impact long-term health of offspring
2013-08-22
CINCINNATI—New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) suggests that the healthy weight and glucose control women achieve through weight-loss surgery don't necessarily translate into health benefits for their future children.
An animal study featured in the Aug. 21, 2013, edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine suggests that treatment with vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) weight loss surgery of a female rat prior to conception has no positive impact on—and could even impact negatively—the metabolic health of her offspring.
The study was led by ...
Physicists pinpoint key property of material that both conducts and insulates
2013-08-22
It is well known to scientists that the three common phases of water – ice, liquid and vapor – can exist stably together only at a particular temperature and pressure, called the triple point.
Also well known is that the solid form of many materials can have numerous phases, but it is difficult to pinpoint the temperature and pressure for the points at which three solid phases can coexist stably.
Scientists now have made the first-ever accurate determination of a solid-state triple point in a substance called vanadium dioxide, which is known for switching rapidly ...
Insecticide-treated bed nets critical to global elimination of filariasis
2013-08-22
An international team of scientists have demonstrated that a simple, low-cost intervention holds the potential to eradicate a debilitating tropical disease that threatens nearly 1.4 billion people in more than six dozen countries.
The researchers, including Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor James Kazura, MD, found that insecticide-treated bed nets reduce transmission of lymphatic filariasis to undetectable levels – even in the absence of additional medication. Their study appears in the August 22 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
The ...
Studies show vedolizumab is an effective treatment for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
2013-08-22
VIDEO:
An international clinical trial led by Dr. Brian Feagan of Western University in London, Canada has found that the investigational antibody vedolizumab is an effective treatment for those suffering from...
Click here for more information.
An international clinical trial led by Dr. Brian Feagan of Western University in London, Canada, has found that the investigational antibody vedolizumab is an effective treatment for those suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC) and ...
Family history of diabetes increases the risk of prediabetes by 26 percent, with effect most evident in non-obese
2013-08-22
A study involving more than 8,000 participants has shown that people with a family history of diabetes see their risk of prediabetes increase by 26%. The research is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and is by Dr Andreas Fritsche and colleagues from the German Center for Diabetes Research*.
Prediabetes is a condition most often described as the 'state between normal blood sugar control and full diabetes', and indeed prediabetes progresses to full blown diabetes in up to 20% of individuals affected per year. ...
Breast is best: Good bacteria arrive from mum's gut via breast milk
2013-08-22
Scientists have discovered that important 'good' bacteria arrive in babies' digestive systems from their mother's gut via breast milk.
Although this does confirm that when it comes to early establishment of gut and immune health, 'breast is best', a greater understanding of how babies acquire a population of good bacteria can also help to develop formula milk that more closely mimics nature.
The study, published today (22 August) in Environmental Microbiology, which is a journal of the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), was led by Professor Christophe Lacroix ...