"Accidentally" the secret of longevity of Pacific rock fish living to 200 years old can humans learn from

Even though the cells are only a few ten microns in size, there are many factors that affect aging hidden in these "square inches"

——Liu Lin, Professor, School of Life Sciences, Nankai University

◎Reporter Chen Xi

Throughout the ages, human beings have never stopped exploring immortality

Some Pacific rock fish can live more than 200 years old and are one of the longest known vertebrates, while some Pacific rock fish can only live more than 10 years old

The understanding of aging starts from the cell

The aging that we can see with the naked eye starts from wrinkles on the skin, "flowers" in the eyes, and more and more "small problems" in the physical examination every year

"Cell senescence is the root cause of body aging, and aging generally starts from the tiny genetic level

Cell senescence is closely related to chromosome telomeres

Mitochondria, the main organelle involved in cell metabolism, is also an important organelle that regulates cell senescence

At the same time, telomere shortening also affects mitochondria

Mitochondria will oxidize the cell membrane and the inner membrane system.

Liu Lin said that only by maintaining a certain level of calcium ions and maintaining the calcium oscillations of the cells, the free calcium ions in the cytoplasm can be effectively stored in the organelles and released during work to ensure the normal functioning of the cells.

Various ways to find and decipher the aging code

Human beings have been trying to find the code to decipher aging from various paths

For example, Liu Guanghui's team at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences found a molecular switch to "keep cells young", which can slow down the rhythm of cell aging by resetting the epigenetic clock of aging

Research on DNA damage repair has not stopped

"Even if you know how DNA base mutations are repaired, how to use them for anti-cell aging and understanding the regulatory mechanism is still very tricky

In addition, in recent years, epigenetic suppression of transposon, preventing it from activating on the genome, is also an important anti-aging research direction

The regulation of organelles and lysosomes is also a new research direction in aging

The lysosomes in the cell can wrap up the garbage through the envelope system through autophagy or mitochondrial autophagy, and then digest and remove it or discharge it outside the cell
.
"Applying this principle, there are already some small molecule drug candidates in the market development stage.
These small molecules can remove the garbage generated by cell senescence, which may be helpful to the delay of senescence and tumor treatment
.
" Liu Lin introduced
.

New research confirms that inflammation is related to human aging

In the research published in Science, researchers collected tissue samples from 88 rockfish species and sequenced their genomes using sequencing technology
.
The team found that species with longer lifespans possess more immunomodulatory genes, especially a group of genes called lactophilin
.

Researchers are also looking for more common DNA mutations in longer-lived fish to reveal which factors are related to human aging
.
In the end, researchers found 137 genetic variants related to longevity.
After excluding some genetic variants that have no direct impact on lifespan, it was finally determined that other mutations related to longevity mainly involved three types of genes: the number of genes that repair DNA increased; regulation Variations in multiple genes of insulin; enrichment of genes that regulate the immune system
.

"This study once again confirmed that inflammation is the root cause of everything
.
The immune system is involved in regulating inflammation, and the increase in inflammation is related to human aging
.
" Liu Lin explained that tumors also originate from inflammation at the beginning, and aging also originates from inflammation.
Inflammation occurs.
The main cause may be problems with mitochondrial function, the garbage in the organelles has not been removed, or it is caused by endogenous or exogenous viruses.
The shortened and damaged telomeres can also induce inflammation
.

The results of this research are consistent with previous research directions for anti-aging, such as DNA repair and immune regulation
.
Through this research, some genes can be used as therapeutic targets for age-related injuries
.

As the researchers of this study said: "We have the opportunity to observe nature and see how natural adaptation affects lifespan, and then think about how the same genes play a role in our own bodies
.
"