Healthy ageing inherited from mothers genes, says study
Posted on: 26/Jul/2016 9:41:52 AM
A new study has said that a tiny repository of DNA inherited only from one`s mother may be the key for healthy ageing who swapped out mouse genes to prove the point. The study was conducted by researchers from the Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research, or the CNIC, in Madrid.
The study says that the team created two sets of lab mice identical but for their mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, and found that one group was much healthier and sprightlier in old age. The way we age might be determined long before the ageing process starts and the first signs appear.
Say the researchers, Previous research had suggested that mtDNA variants could yield different health impacts, but the issue remained very controversial due to contradictory observations. The new findings, however, definitively demonstrate that this is true.
Every cell in the human body holds about 20,000-25,000 genes, almost all of them in the nucleus- so-called nuclear DNA. But 37 others reside in tiny structures called mitochondria, which turn sugar and oxygen into energy and power our cells. While nuclear DNA is transferred to offspring by both parents, mtDNA is inherited from the mother alone. Sometimes, genetic mutations can cause mitochondria to malfunction, resulting in organ failure and even death. Both strains of mtDNA used in the study were healthy, with only a 0.5-percent difference in genetic coding. All the rodents were bred to have the same nuclear DNA.
Speaking about the study, the researchers said, Mice in one group were ageing healthier, and had a median life span longer than the other. Lab mice have a life expectancy of just over two years. Comparing a specimen from each test group at the age of two, one showed evident signs of superior health. It has more abundant and more lustrous fur, is more robust, has more muscular mass, and is more active. Liver function was also better. Regarding the central fact that different mtDNA variants may contribute to the natural differences between individuals, we don`t see any reason why this would be different in humans.
Experts who were not involved in the study say, The results surprising. Few would have expected that mixing and matching mtDNA would have such an obvious effect. And while the implications for human health remain unclear, commentators said the results may be important for the field of pronuclear transfer - a technique for producing embryos free of mitochondrial diseases carried by their mothers. The work is an important contribution to the necessary and continuing debate concerning mtDNA replacement. The results as fascinating and mind-boggling, though further study must determine whether they could be replicated in humans.
