In an extraordinary breakthrough Queensland researchers have unlocked the secrets of ageing, paving the way to extending the quality of life and to reduce the impacts of serious diseases.
A vaccine to stop Alzheimer’s disease, spearheaded by an Australian immunologist, is beginning human trials next week.
The study between Professor Nikolai Petrovsky and a US-based Medical Institute has produced promising results in animal subjects.
Testing shows the death of nerve cells and progressive memory loss were delayed by producing antibodies to defend the brain against harmful proteins.
Phase one of the trial will be conducted in Adelaide and will take roughly a year to complete.
Until now the process of how genes change from birth to adulthood and into old age has been largely unknown but University of Queensland scientists have discovered the crucial molecular secrets of ageing in cells.
It was previously thought to be a random process but the researchers have shown it is predictable and is the same in all cell types, regulated by a master controller AP-1.
This important discovery means the boffins can now study the effects of drugs on AP-1 to extend the quality of life as we age.
The goal is to prevent diseases of the aged, like Alzheimer’s or strokes, from escalating or occurring in the first place.
UQ researcher Dr Christian Nefzger led the study.
The study was led by Dr Christian Nefzger from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience with key contributions from Dr Ralph Patrick and Dr Marina Naval-Sanchez.
“By analysing molecular datasets from both people and mice and then comparing different age groups over time, we investigated the activity of genes involved in both developmental and ageing processes,” Dr Nefzger said.
“Master controller genes regulate which genes are turned on or off in each of our cells, making sure that each cell does its specific job, just as a conductor directs musicians to produce different sounds.
“We followed the activity of the master regulator Activator Protein 1 or AP-1 and found that it progressively activated adult genes, while the activity of ‘early-life’ genes involved in development were dialled down, and this process was shared across cell types.”
Dr Naval-Sanchez said the study found this process in our cells was predictable across the different life stages, as people mature.
“It was ongoing in adulthood, likely because AP-1 is also activated by a number of stress and inflammatory processes as well as by a protein in our blood that increases with age,” Dr Naval-Sanchez said.
“This further dampens genes most active early in life, which may drive many of the predictable changes of ageing.”
Dr Patrick said to address the diseases associated with ageing, like Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic liver disorders and stroke, researchers must first understand the process causing bodies to age.
“By pinpointing AP-1 as a master controller linked to ageing across cell types, we can now study the effects of drugs that reduce its activity to extend quality of life,” Dr Patrick said.
The research paper was published in Cell Metabolism.
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