Mutational Damage in Long-Lived Brain Cells Correlates with Age

Is random mutational damage to nuclear DNA a sizable cause of aging? The consensus in the scientific community on that question is that it is an important cause, with the theory being that this results in sufficient change in protein production and cellular behavior to produce degraded function. That consensus is challenged, however, and at present there is a distinct lack of supporting evidence for either position, even given a few intriguing studies from recent years. It is well known that mutation level correlates with age, and methods of slowing aging also slow the increase of mutational damage. So every aspect of aging does in fact tend to correlate with mutation load, but that doesn't necessarily tell us anything about cause and effect - and that is the case here. Aging in humans brings increased incidence of nearly all diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases. It has long been hypothesized that aging and neurodegeneration are associated with somatic mutation in neurons; however, methodological hurdles have prevented testing this hypothesis directly. Markers of DNA damage increase in the brain with age, and genetic progeroid diseases caused by defects in DNA damage repair (DDR) are associated with neurodegeneration and premature aging. While analysis of human bulk brain DNA, comprised of multiple proliferative and non-proliferative cell types, revealed an accumulation of mutations during aging in the human brain, it is not known whether permanent somatic ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs