Protein Acetyltransferases Influence Longevity in Short-Lived Laboratory Species

Over the past twenty years a great deal of work has gone into the investigation of protein deacetylases, such as SIRT1, in the context of aging and longevity. Here, researchers note some of the evidence for the other side of the coin, protein acetyltransferases, to also influence life span in short-lived laboratory species. It seems plausible that interventions based on these mechanisms will also produce negligible effects once attempted in humans: all of these metabolic manipulations appear to scale down in their benefits as species life span increases. Treatments that make nematode worms live twice as long typically have little to no useful outcome in humans. This isn't a part of the field that is likely to produce meaningful treatments for aging, judging by the work taken place to date. The level of acetylation on a given protein is the result of a balance in the activity of opposing families of enzymes, protein lysine acetyltransferases that attach the acetyl moieties and protein deacetylases that remove the acetyl groups. The idea that protein acetylation plays an important role in the regulation of aging began with the pioneering work on the sirtuin family of NAD+-dependent protein deacetylases. Studies in model organisms such as, flies, worms and mice, showed that genetic or pharmacological modulation of sirtuin activity influenced lifespan. While a role for protein deacetylases in aging is firmly established, the enzymes on the other side of the equation, the...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs