Protein Synthesis Differences in Progeria Suggest Changes in the Nucleolus as a Potential Biomarker of Aging

Researchers here note changes in the nucleolus in both old cells and cells from progeria patients, and suggest that these changes may be characteristic enough in normal aging to serve as a biomarker to assess biological age. There is great interest in the research community in establishing a low-cost, reliable biomarker of this nature, as it would considerably speed up the assessment of potential rejuvenation therapies, those that address the root causes of aging. Currently it is an expensive and time-consuming process, as studies must run long enough to observe the results of a treatment upon mortality rates. Progeria is not accelerated aging, but has superficially similar outcomes. This rare condition is of interest because the form of molecular damage that is prevalent in this condition, mutated lamin A that causes structural and other irregularities in cells, is also found to a small degree in normal aging. It is an open question as to whether or not that matters in comparison to the laundry list of other forms of molecular damage found in old tissues. So secondary effects observed in progeria patients, those downstream of the lamin A issue, may well not be in any way relevant to normal aging. Even if the observation dovetails with existing knowledge, as is the case here, it could still be peculiar to the progeroid tissue environment and its particular distribution of forms of cellular damage, and so caution is required. Still, the findings in normal cells carried ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs