Drug could potentially be used to treat human diseases that cause accelerated aging
Northwestern Medicine® scientists have newly identified a protein’s key role in cell and physiological aging and have developed – in collaboration with Tohoku University in Japan — an experimental drug that inhibits the protein’s effect and prolonged the lifespan in a mouse model of accelerated aging.
The rapidly aging mice fed the experimental drug lived more than four times longer than a control group, and their lungs and vascular system were protected from accelerated aging, the new study reports.
The experimental drug could potentially be used to treat human diseases that cause accelerated aging such as chronic kidney disease, diabetes and HIV infection as well as the effects of cigarette smoking.
“A drug like this could help reduce complications in clinical conditions that reflect accelerated aging,” said Douglas Vaughan, M.D., senior author of the study. “This had a very robust effect in terms of prolonging life span.”
Vaughan is the chair of medicine and the Irving S. Cutter Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
This is a completely different target and different drug than anything else being investigated for potential effects in prolonging life, Vaughan noted.
While the experimental drug is in the early stages of testing, Vaughan said, “It makes sense that this might be one component of a cocktail of drugs or supplements that a person might take in the future to extend their healthy life.”
The study was published April 28 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The experimental drug, TM5441, is one of only several chosen each year by the National Institute on Aging to be tested in its Interventions Testing Program, which investigates treatments with the potential to extend lifespan and delay disease in mice.
The discovery is the result of 25 years of research by Vaughan’s lab.
When cells or tissue age — called senescence — they lose the ability to regenerate and secrete certain proteins, like a distinctive fingerprint. One of those proteins, PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor) has been the focus of Vaughan’s research, originally as it relates to cardiovascular disease.
“We made the intellectual leap between a marker of senescence and physiological aging,” Vaughan said. “We asked is this marker for cell aging one of the drivers or mechanisms of rapid physiological aging?”
For the study, he and colleagues used mice bred to be deficient in a gene (Klotho) that suppresses aging. These mice exhibit accelerated aging in the form of arteriosclerosis, neurodegeneration, osteoporosis and emphysema and have much shorter life spans than regular mice. Vaughan determined that these rapidly aging mice produce increased levels of PAI-1 in their blood and tissue.
Then scientists fed the rapidly aging mice TM5441 — the experimental drug — in their food every day. The result was a decrease in PAI-1 activity (the aging protein Vaughan’s team had identified), which quadrupled the mice’s life span and kept their organs healthy and functioning.
Northwestern scientists also genetically produced the same life prolonging results when they crossed the mice deficient in the age-suppressing gene with mice deficient in PAI-1. Importantly, partial genetic deficiency of PAI-1 and the experimental PAI-1 antagonist produced provided similar benefits in the mice, Vaughan noted.
The Latest on: Prolongs Life Span
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Prolongs Life Span” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Prolongs Life Span
- China’s Population Could Shrink to Half by 2100on May 1, 2024 at 4:59 am
China’s population of 1.4 billion people is the largest in the world, right? Not anymore. In 2023 India surpassed China as the most populous country. China’s population began shrinking in 2022, and ...
- Doing this could add 5 years to life regardless of genes: studyon April 30, 2024 at 12:47 pm
Going running may offset diseases that run in the family, according to the first study of its kind. A healthy lifestyle, which includes things like regular exercise, good sleep, not smoking and eating ...
- Healthy lifestyle could counteract effects of life-shortening geneson April 29, 2024 at 5:30 pm
A healthy lifestyle could counteract the effects of life-shortening genes by more than 60%, a new analysis of several large long-term studies suggests.
- Vast study shows healthy living could prolong the lives of some by five yearson April 29, 2024 at 5:02 pm
Healthy living could outweigh genes which cause some to have shorter lives and help prolong their life by five years, scientists have found. In the first study of its kind, experts explored how the ...
- Artificial Intelligence Might Prolong Human Lifeon April 19, 2024 at 6:17 am
Researchers now say AI, which uses computers to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, has the extraordinary potential to save lives, lots of them.
- How to maximize battery life: Charging habits and other tipson April 18, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Keep reading for a more detailed explanation of what factors will prolong your battery life. One particularly persistent battery myth is that you need to occasionally fully discharge and recharge ...
- Why broccoli and dental floss can prolong your lifeon April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
There are more ways to increase your life span than simply giving up smoking or learning to relax. Here we present the final part of our guide to easy steps you can take to live ten years longer.
- Choosing Regular Food to Extend Longevityon April 14, 2024 at 5:00 pm
A Scientific Guide to Which Foods Prolong Life or Kill You Prematurely.” Based on scientific studies about the life-expectancy effect of different foods – positive and negative – (many cited ...
- Could saying "hello" to strangers be good for your health?on April 10, 2024 at 2:50 pm
BOSTON - Chatting it up with people we don't know can boost our mood and give us a greater sense of belonging, both of which can help prolong life. WebMD examined the benefits of speaking to ...
- 5 Ways to Prolong the Life Of Your HVAC System:on December 20, 2023 at 8:44 am
If you are wondering how you can increase the life expectancy of your HVAC system, this article is the right one for you. We’ll discuss a few tips to help you prolong your HVAC system’s life. The ...
via Bing News