RE: Ask a biologist
May 23, 2015 at 6:30 pm
(This post was last modified: May 23, 2015 at 6:38 pm by nihilistcat.)
(May 23, 2015 at 4:51 pm)Lemonvariable72 Wrote: What's your thoughts on teleomerose (spelling?) Production into late life stages in lobsters? Can this be an applicable avenue of research?
In human cells, proteins involved in DNA damage repair are localized at the telomere region of the chromosome (e.g. specific binding of the six sub-unit protein complex shelterin to the telomeric repeat sequence TTAGGG). Our telomere are shorted with each cell division, and eventually, depletion reaches a critical point where it triggers the DNA damage response and replicative senescence (the cell is no longer able to divide). It also influences other cell signaling pathways. So for example, senescent cells are thought to drive human aging through the secretion of inflammatory factors, and eventually mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) damage, induces apoptosis (cell death).
Lobsters do not age in the way humans age (age does not increase chances of death at all in lobsters), and yes, they do retain telomere length throughout their lives. However, this is because cells in lobsters express telomerase (an enzyme which can restore telomere length). The problem is, in humans, while telomerase could perform the same function, it's also implicated in virtually all forms of cancer.
However, there's much better research on telomeres these days e.g. a recent study conducted at Stamford was able to deliver modified mRNA, which encodes a telomere extending protein to human cells, and cell proliferation capacity increased dramatically, essentially turning back the aging clock in transfected cells. This research shows a pathway to overcome the traditional problem with telomere lengthening strategies (which usually rely on introduction of telomerase).
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/01/telomere-extension-turns-back-aging-clock-in-cultured-cells.html
The above link is to an article discussing the study (the study itself was published in the FASEB Journal, but you have to pay for access). The potential here is remarkable, because this research demonstrates the possibility of dissociating concerns related to inducing oncogenesis from life extension strategies involving telomere extension.
