Researchers Discover Two Paths of Aging and New Insights on Promoting Healthspan

A study published in Science by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) isolated two distinct cellular pathways of aging and devised a technique for genetically programming these mechanisms to extend lifespan, reports ScienceBlog . The team looked at aging in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , seeking clues on the aging paths of skin and stem cells. They learned that cells of the same genetic material and within the same environment can age in markedly different ways through distinct molecular and cellular trajectories. About half the cells gradually showed declining stability of the nucleolus, a region of nuclear DNA where key components of protein-producing factories are generated. The other half exhibited dysfunction of mitochondria, and both types of aging pathways occur early in life and are followed across the entire cell lifespan. Both of these processes are controlled by a master molecular circuit, which the researchers learned to reprogram by modifying its DNA via computer models. The team will test their new model in more complex cells and organisms, and eventually in human cells. "Our study raises the possibility of rationally designing gene or chemical-based therapies to reprogram how human cells age, with a goal of effectively delaying human aging and extending human healthspan," said UCSD Professor Nan Hao.