extend lifespan tagged posts

Activity with age. Fluorescence in the fat body of fruit flies tracks the activity of transposable elements of DNA. It increases markedly with age. Credit: Jason Wood/Brown University

A new study increases and strengthens the links that have led scientists to propose the “transposon theory of aging.” Transposons are rogue elements of DNA that break free in aging cells and rewrite themselves elsewhere in the genome, potentially creating lifespan-shortening chaos in the genetic makeups of tissues. As cells get older, prior studies have shown, tightly wound heterochromatin wrapping that typically imprisons transposons becomes looser, allowing them to slip out of their positions in chromosomes and move to new ones, disrupting normal cell function...

This study shows that metabolism, acetyl‐CoA levels and histone acetylation are increased during midlife in Drosophila, which correlates with changes in the transcriptome. Depleting the enzymes that link metabolism and histone acetylation reduces midlife acetyl‐CoA levels, transcriptome changes and increases life span.

A collaborative study by 2 research groups at LMU’s Biomedical Center has shown in the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster that age-dependent changes are already detectable in middle age. Genetic investigation of the signal pathways involved in mediating this effect identified a common process – the modification of proteins by the attachment of so-called acetyl groups (CH3COO−) to proteins – that links the age-related changes at the metabolic and genetic levels.

As we age...