“Scientists discover genetic pathway to increase cell longevity by 80%”

A group of researchers from the University of California at San Diego, in the United States, discovered the genetic pathway involved in cellular aging and, thus, managed to increase the useful life of cells by more than 80%.

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“Our work represents a proof of concept, demonstrating the successful application of synthetic biology to reprogram the cellular aging process, and may lay the groundwork for designing synthetic gene circuits to effectively promote longevity in more complex organisms,” the scientists wrote. in the article published in the scientific journal Science.

For the human body to function perfectly, each cell works as if it were a mini-factory to carry out the processes necessary for our survival. Just as industries generate waste, chemical reactions result in toxic waste that, over time, accumulates and damages human DNA, organs and tissues. But because our cells are factories that never stop working, accumulating all that waste can be easy during the aging process. To avoid possible damage, our body kills these cells before anything wrong happens.

In this new study, the scientists used yeast cells — which age like human cells — as a model for the aging process studied. In the case of yeast, two mechanisms interrupt the continuity of the cell’s life: fragmentation of the cell’s protein-producing properties or impairment of the mitochondria, structures that produce the cell’s energy. These mechanisms occur at random (it is not known in advance which will occur). But only one of them occurs — if one starts, the other doesn’t start.

University of San Diego researchers have developed a new genetic circuit that allows these cells to regularly switch between two aging mechanisms, preventing them from aging at the normal rate.

The results of the experiment showed that the modified cells lived 82% longer than the unaltered ones.

Now, the team of scientists is trying to reproduce their research in different types of human cells, such as stem cells and neurons.