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Test detects molecular marker of aging in humans
June 16, 2009CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In 2004, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center announced a crucial discovery in the understanding of cellular aging. They found that as cells and tissues age, the expression of a key protein, called p16INK4a, dramatically increases in most mammalian organs. Because p16INK4a is a tumor suppressor protein, cancer researchers are interested in its role in cellular aging and cancer prevention.
Now the team has proven that the same biomarker is present in human blood and is strongly correlated both with chronological age and with certain behaviors such as tobacco use and physical inactivity, which are known to accelerate the aging process.
In a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Aging Cell, the researchers reported that they have solved technical hurdles to develop a simple blood test to detect p16INK4a expression, which is present in cells called T-lymphocytes, also known as T-cells.
"This is a major step toward a practical tool to clinically determine a person's actual molecular, as opposed to just their chronological age," said UNC Lineberger member Norman Sharpless, M.D., the senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine and genetics at UNC's School of Medicine.
They validated the test by obtaining blood from two groups of healthy human volunteers, totaling 170 subjects, who also filled out a questionnaire about current and past health status and health behaviors.
They found that expression of the biomarker was strongly correlated with the donor's chronological age and, in fact, increased exponentially with age. In addition, increased levels were independently associated with tobacco use and physical inactivity as well as with biomarkers of human frailty.
Sharpless said that the researchers were surprised by some of their findings, "We found a very weak correlation between the biomarker and obesity - as measured by body mass index (BMI) - despite other data suggesting that caloric restriction slows aging. The data suggest the possibility that reduced exercise may actually be worse with regard to molecular age than a higher BMI."
"Although we don't know whether this test is a good reflection of cellular age in all types of human tissues, we believe it is a first step toward a better understanding of issues like the suitability of organs for transplantation, how well patients are likely to recover after surgery or the future toxicity of chemotherapy for cancer patients," he added.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
"This is a major step toward a practical tool to clinically determine a person's actual molecular, as opposed to just their chronological age," said UNC Lineberger member Norman Sharpless, M.D., the senior author of the study and associate professor of medicine and genetics at UNC's School of Medicine.
They validated the test by obtaining blood from two groups of healthy human volunteers, totaling 170 subjects, who also filled out a questionnaire about current and past health status and health behaviors.
They found that expression of the biomarker was strongly correlated with the donor's chronological age and, in fact, increased exponentially with age. In addition, increased levels were independently associated with tobacco use and physical inactivity as well as with biomarkers of human frailty.
Sharpless said that the researchers were surprised by some of their findings, "We found a very weak correlation between the biomarker and obesity - as measured by body mass index (BMI) - despite other data suggesting that caloric restriction slows aging. The data suggest the possibility that reduced exercise may actually be worse with regard to molecular age than a higher BMI."
"Although we don't know whether this test is a good reflection of cellular age in all types of human tissues, we believe it is a first step toward a better understanding of issues like the suitability of organs for transplantation, how well patients are likely to recover after surgery or the future toxicity of chemotherapy for cancer patients," he added.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
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A common weed and human cancer cells could provide some very uncommon details about DNA structure and its relationship with telomeres and how they affect cellular aging and cancer, according to a team led by scientists from Texas A&M University and the University of Cincinnati (UC).
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Cutting calories slightly can reduce aging damage
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200 proteins which detect diseases of the liver
The biochemist Enrique Santamaría Martínez, a researcher in the area of Genetic Therapy and Hepatology at the CIMA of the University of Navarra, has identified more than 200 proteins which can be considered as indicators of the progression of steatohepatitis and liver hepatitis.
Light exercise a tonic to keep the brain young
In the first study to show that lifelong exercise decreases cellular aging in the brain, scientists from the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida say that moderately active rats have healthier DNA and more robust brain cells than their less active counterparts.
Tiny roundworm's telomeres help scientists to tease apart different types of aging
The continual and inevitable shortening of telomeres, the protective "caps" at the end of all 46 human chromosomes, has been linked to aging and physical decline.
The Jetlag of a Glowing Fish and More: Press Release from PLoS Biology
What Does an Airline Traveler Have in Common with a Glowing Fish? In William Gibson's novel Pattern Recognition, the protagonist posits a theory of jet lag: "Souls can't move that quickly, and are left behind, and must be awaited, upon arrival, like lost luggage." Science has yet to address the issue of a spiritual speed limit, but it is generally accepted that jet lag actually results from the upset of the body's circadian clock, a biochemical pacemaker that dictates daily rhythms in sleep and wakefulness as well as body temperature and metabolic activity. Circadian rhythms are regulated by changes in daylight cycles, but how and when they first develop is not well unde
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