There are genes that regulate aging, and if you turn them off, you can prolong youth. However, such experiments have so far only been performed on nematodes and mice. said “Gazete.Ru” Director of the Institute for the Study of Aging of the Russian National Research Medical University. Pirogov Alexey Churov of the NI Russian Ministry of Health.
“They have already been successfully “turned off”. Thus, it is possible to significantly extend the lifespan of various model organisms and restore lost functions. In humans, everything is much more complicated, because “aging genes” regulate many processes in the body (for example, IGF-1, SIRT1, mTOR genes) and if we act on them, then there is a very high risk that we will affect useful functions “, – explained Churov.
Churov also emphasized that the aging genes found in humans cannot be considered 100% as such, because studies in which such genes are regularly “discovered” have limitations.
“Genes of aging” are often studied in age-related diseases – atherosclerosis, type II diabetes and a number of other diseases. The design of such studies does not allow us to accurately establish that this gene found is directly related to biological age, ”Churov explained.
Sometimes “aging genes” are understood as a specific mutation of the same gene. That is, in the normal state, this gene may not be associated with aging, but in the presence of a mutation, the function of the gene changes so much that it leads to earlier age-related changes.
There are also protective genetic variants (“defense genes”) that can result in a longer life expectancy.
“Our institute is also looking for such genes,” said the expert.