2023-05-26 04:15:00
In the fight against aging and associated diseases, all means are good. Including telomere elongation. What is it about ? Protective ends of our chromosomes that shorten as we age. How ? “Each time a cell copies its DNA before dividing, it loses a small piece of telomere, like a photocopier that trims the margins of the original document”explains Inserm.
“The cell then stops dividing and functioning normally. Researchers speak of “senescent” cells, the accumulation of which contributes to the aging of the organism”. Clearly, telomere size is a good marker of biological aging. And, in humans as in other species, “these ends of chromosomes shorten faster in the intestine than in other organs during life”indicates the CNRS.
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The zebrafish is just one of these species. Among his other points in common with humans: he shares 70% of his genes with us, and “84% of genes linked to human diseases have an equivalent in zebrafish”. This is why the French researchers had the idea of testing their hypothesis on this species of fish.
Miguel Godinho Ferreira’s team from Ircan (Institute for Research on Cancer and Aging in Nice – CNRS/Inserm/University of the Côte d’Azur) therefore “inserted into zebrafish a fragment of DNA allowing intestinal cells to produce the enzyme responsible for telomere elongation, telomerase”. Result: beyond the single intestine, the whole organism has seen its aging slow down. And with it, the risks of diseases associated with advancing age are reduced.
Conclusion of the researchers: “the proximity between the length of the telomeres of the zebrafish and that of humans opens up prospects for countering aging”. And new tracks “to study pathologies associated with telomere shortening”, such as cancer, neurodegenerative, immune and gastrointestinal diseases. To be confirmed, of course, in humans.
Source : Nature Aging – Mai 2023
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#Health #intestines #increase #life #expectancy