from the science-gets-it-wrong-until-it-gets-it-right dept.
Scientists make stunning discovery, find new protein activity in telomeres:
Once thought incapable of encoding proteins due to their simple monotonous repetitions of DNA, tiny telomeres at the tips of our chromosomes seem to hold a potent biological function that's potentially relevant to our understanding of cancer and aging.
Reporting in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UNC School of Medicine researchers Taghreed Al-Turki, Ph.D., and Jack Griffith, Ph.D., made the stunning discovery that telomeres contain genetic information to produce two small proteins, one of which they found is elevated in some human cancer cells, as well as cells from patients suffering from telomere-related defects.
"Based on our research, we think simple blood tests for these proteins could provide a valuable screen for certain cancers and other human diseases," said Griffith, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. "These tests also could provide a measure of 'telomere health,' because we know telomeres shorten with age."
Telomeres contain a unique DNA sequence consisting of endless repeats of TTAGGG bases that somehow inhibit chromosomes from sticking to each other. Two decades ago, the Griffith laboratory showed that the end of a telomere's DNA loops back on itself to form a tiny circle, thus hiding the end and blocking chromosome-to-chromosome fusions. When cells divide, telomeres shorten, eventually becoming so short that the cell can no longer divide properly, leading to cell death.
[...] "Many questions remain to be answered, but our biggest priority now is developing a simple blood test for these proteins. This could inform us of our biological age and also provide warnings of issues, such as cancer or inflammation."
See also:
Scientists Unlock Secrets of 'Immortal Jellyfish'
Is Ageing a Disease?
Journal information: Al-Turki, Taghreed M. et al, Mammalian telomeric RNA (TERRA) can be translated to produce valine–arginine and glycine–leucine dipeptide repeat proteins, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221529120
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Related Stories
Whether ageing can be cured or not, there are arguments for thinking about it like a disease. But there are major pitfalls, too.
The first depiction of humanity's obsession with curing death is The Epic of Gilgamesh—which, dating back to at least 1800 B.C., is also one of the first recorded works of literature, period. Centuries later, the ancient Roman playwright Terentius declared, "Old age itself is a sickness," and Cicero argued "we must struggle against [old age], as against a disease." In 450 B.C., Herodotus wrote about the fountain of youth, a restorative spring that reverses aging and inspired explorers such as Ponce de León. But what once was a mythical holy grail is now seemingly within tantalizing reach. As humans' understanding and knowledge of science and technology have increased, so too have our life spans.
[...] Maybe the ancients weren't wrong, and aging can be not only delayed but cured like a disease. Over the years, the movement to classify aging as a disease has gained momentum not only from longevity enthusiasts but also from scientists. In 1954, Robert M. Perlman published a paper in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society called "The Aging Syndrome" in which he called aging a "disease complex." Since then, others have jumped on board, including gerontologists frustrated by a lack of funding to study the aging process itself.
[...] However, labeling aging itself as a disease is both misleading and detrimental. Pathologizing a universal process makes it seem toxic. In our youth-obsessed society, ageism already runs rampant in Hollywood, the job market, and even presidential races. And calling aging a disease doesn't address critical questions about why we age in the first place. Instead of calling aging a disease, scientists should aim to identify and treat the underlying processes that cause aging and age-related cellular deterioration.
This jellyfish can repeatedly reverse its age and scientists hope it can give insight on human aging:
Scientists in Spain have revealed the genetic code of the "immortal jellyfish," a sea creature with the ability to revert to its juvenile larval form over and over.
To understand why the Turritopsis dohrnii has this special ability, Maria Pascual-Torner, Victor Quesada and colleagues at the University of Oviedo compared the genetic sequence of T. dohrnii to Turritopsis rubra, a close cousin that doesn't have rejuvenation abilities.
[...] Scientists compared a set of almost 1,000 genes linked to aging and DNA repair between T. dohrni and other cnidarians. They were then able to present the full range of mRNA expressed by the jellyfish at different stages of the life cycle reversal process.
T. dohrnii isn't the only cnidarian species to self-rejuvenate, but this ability is usually lost once the animals reach sexual maturity, the scientists said.
The study found that variations in T. dohrnii's genome might make it better at copying and repairing DNA. They also appeared to be better at maintaining the ends of chromosomes called telomeres — in humans and other species, telomere length has been found to shorten with age.
[...] "We can't look at it as, hey, we're going to harvest these jellyfish and turn it into a skin cream," said Graham. "It's one of those papers that I do think will open up a door to a new line of study that's worth pursuing."
Journal Reference:
Maria Pascual-Torner, Dido Carrero, José G. Pérez-Silva, et al., Comparative genomics of mortal and immortal cnidarians unveils novel keys behind rejuvenation, PNAS, 119, 2022. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118763119
