13/04/2007

A recent study at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (ΙΜΒΒ) of the Foundation for Research and Technology (FORTH), the results of which were published in the Journal Nature (Vol. 445, 22 February 2007, 922-926), sheds light for the first time on an important control mechanism of aging and paves the way for enhancing the quality of life for the elderly, but also for combating neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, heart disease, etc.

Using an experimental system and microscopic nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans (smaller than one millimetre), the researchers of the ΙΜΒΒ Popi Syndichaki and Kostoula Troulinaki, headed by Nektarios Tavernarakis, discovered a hitherto-unknown relationship between one of the most basic cellular processes and aging.

Even though aging is one of most fundamental biological phenomena which all living organisms experience without exception, it is at the same time one of the least understood. Which mechanisms are responsible for the aging of cells and, by extension, the whole of the organism?

In the study published in Nature, the researchers of the ΙΜΒΒ showed that the cell's process of protein synthesis is closely connected to the rate at which it ages. Protein synthesis is an exceptionally energy-consuming process on which the cell spends approximately 50% of its energy.

The reduction of protein synthesis would save precious energy, which would then be available for other cellular procedures such as damage repair, resulting in an increase in survival time. By intervening repressively on the regulation of protein synthesis, the researchers at the ΙΜΒΒ succeeded in significantly extending the life duration of the nematode. It is worth noting that it is the first time, at global level, that aging is directly associated with protein synthesis.

Because the process of protein synthesis is exceptionally similar between the nematode and higher organisms including humans, it is anticipated that the same relationship with aging occurs in those organisms.

As N. Tavernarakis emphasizes: "Protein synthesis and the consequences on aging are about the same in the cells of the simplest organisms as in humans. Moreover, the Caenorhabditis elegans, as with many other simple organisms, are often used as an experimental animal". Naturally, the reduction of protein synthesis can only happen to a certain point, as proteins are necessary for the functioning of the organism. "We must find a balance, so that we can gain energy without stopping the production of proteins", the FORTH researcher emphasizes. Of course, studies on higher organisms must be conducted, such as on flies and mice, and then on humans.

It is important to mention that aging and the accompanying pathological conditions (neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, heart disease, etc.) comprise one of the continually increasing causes of human disability in modern societies. The discovery of the biological mechanisms implicated in aging will enable effective interventions aimed at improving the quality of life at advanced age to be developed.

It is worth noting that in 2005 a Bodossaki Foundation Academic Prize was awarded to researcher Nektarios Tavernarakis for his studies in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Source: FORTH