Many assume that the process of aging is natural and inevitable. Essentially every organism experiences aging. The basic signs of aging include wrinkling of skin, whitening of hairs, weakening of bones, and shortening of telomeres. Evidence of these factors is generally associated with a progression towards death. Many fear the thought of dying and would much rather prefer living forever. However, is such a desire possible? There are many theories on the aging process and research studies in model organisms suggest that it could be slowed. In a recent study involving worms, it was found that an important cellular process, autophagy, may play a role in aging.
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Researchers found that inhibiting autophagy in neuronal cells of old worms extended their lifespans by about 50%. Autophagy is the process by which cellular “garbage” is degraded by lysosomes. It helps remove damaged proteins and organelles and is necessary for the proper development and growth of organisms. This suggests an evolutionary mechanism by which autophagy arose. The researchers came across genes involved in autophagy while looking for evidence of one theory on aging called antagonistic pleiotropy, which suggests that aging occurs from genes that are beneficial when one is young but detrimental when one is older. Because these genes are beneficial during the reproductive age, they become selected for by natural selection without consideration of their potential negative effects in the future. The findings from this study support the proposed theory because although autophagy is necessary for worm development into adulthood, this process caused older worms to die earlier than those that had the process experimentally inhibited.
The results of this study should be interpreted with caution as the researchers have not yet uncovered any potential mechanisms that would explain how autophagy causes aging. Nevertheless, the study does suggest that such antagonistic pleiotropic genes do exist in worms and possibly in humans as well. The process of aging is extremely complex, and it is only when a full understanding of it is achieved can one then attempt to overcome the inevitable. Hopefully, such a level of understanding will be available in the near future.
Feature Image Source: silviarita
