Living a long time, aging well, is also a question of DNA. An international study led by Italy has found a new gene allied to longevity. Is called Mytho and is the protagonist of a study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Investigation’, co-financed by an action of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as part of the Age-It partnership ‘Ageing Well in an Aging Society’, which allowed to create a national network of researchers dedicated to aging.
The search results
The identification and characterization of Mytho bears the signature of Marco Sandri, professor of the Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Padua and principal investigator of the Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (Vimm) with the collaboration of Eva Trevisson, geneticist of the Department of Women’s and children’s health at the University of Padua. The result of 9 years of work, which involved scientists from national and international centres. “It all started with computer research to identify potential genes in the human genome, still unknown, that could have a relevance in the mechanisms that control the quality of proteins and organelles – says Anais Franco Romero, co-lead author of the study together with Valeria Morbidoni – Among the various candidates, the team focused on one gene which stood out for being extremely preserved among different animal species, from humans to worms, called Mytho“.
Through genetic manipulation experiments, the research team demonstrated that Mytho inhibition causes premature cellular senescence (stage in which cells stop replicating), shortening life in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans (among the most used animal models in the laboratory). Its activation, on the contrary, improves the quality of life and allows you to maintain healthy aging.
The researchers also explained how the Mytho gene works: it regulates the biological process called autophagy, which allows the removal of damaged proteins and organelles, improving cellular homeostasis.
“After years of studies – comments Sandri – we have come to know something about our genome, but the function of most of our genetic code is still unknown. An example are the genes that encode proteins, of which more than 5 thousand out of a total of 20 thousand are completely unknown. This is why in recent years we have used resources and energy to characterize this unknown world of our DNA.”
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