A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (USA), found how to increase the longevity of yeast, a type of fungal cell, by up to 82%. Based on this result, the scientists want to apply the same effects to human cells.
The research, published in the scientific journal Science, showed that cells do not age the same way. Thus, scholars decided to alternate the mechanisms of cellular deterioration and genetically reconnect them.
According to scientists, cells go through molecular changes until their degeneration and death.
However, this aging can occur in two ways: half of the cells undergo this process due to DNA deterioration, and the other half, due to the deterioration of mitochondria, responsible for cellular energy.
From there, they designed a way to stop this process.
By means of a circuit, called a gene oscillator, the researchers led the cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to alternate between the two aging states, so that they would not remain in a prolonged connection in each one, thus delaying the degenerative process.
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Before carrying out the procedure on the particles, the scientists carried out tests using computer programs that simulated the interventions.
As a result, they were able to dramatically increase cell lifespan, which set a new record for life extension brought about by chemical and genetic interventions.
“This is the first time that computer-guided synthetic biology and engineering principles have been used to redesign gene circuits to reprogram the aging process and effectively promote longevity,” said Nan Hao, lead author of the study.
Now researchers are expanding their studies to human cells, such as stem cells and neurons.