Increased Levels of Progerin Observed in Overweight Individuals

This study shows that mRNA levels of the aging related lamin A splice variant progerin, associated with premature aging in HGPS, were significantly upregulated in subjects with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Moreover, our data revealed a significantly positive correlation of BMI with progerin mRNA. These data provide to our knowledge for the first-time evidence for a possible involvement of progerin in previously observed accelerated aging of overweight and obese individuals potentially limiting their longevity. Our results also showed that progerin mRNA was positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP). This might suggest an association of progerin with an inflammatory response triggering accelerated aging. Moreover, we found an increase of the acute phase protein CRP in patients with BMI ≥ 25, indicating a higher systemic inflammatory status in the overweight group. This is consistent with prior findings where obesity was considered to predispose to local and systemic inflammation with ongoing activation of immune cells.
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs