当重金属:命运多舛秀丽隐杆线虫研究表明过量铁促进老化

几十年前已经知道,一些金属,包括铁,积累在人体组织老化,有毒的铁水平与神经系统疾病,如帕金森症。一直普遍认为,铁会发生积累的衰老过程。但在线虫的研究秀丽隐杆线虫Lithgow实验室巴克研究所表明,铁积累本身也可能是衰老的重要因素,造成功能障碍和malfolding蛋白质已经与衰老过程。这项研究是在网上老化

类似于发生在人类和其他哺乳动物,研究人员发现,水平的钙、铜、铁和锰增加虫子。但铁积累了比其他人更多的表示,巴克教授戈登Lithgow博士,资深科学家的项目。“我们被吸引到铁,因为有这些文献将多余的铁与阿尔茨海默氏症和帕金森氏症”。

研究人员开始操纵线虫的饮食。“我们吃铁四天蠕虫,几天他们看上去像15天内蠕虫,“Lithgow说。“多余的铁加速老化的过程。”Lithgow says excess iron is known to generate oxidative stress and researchers expected to see changes in the worm based on that toxicity. "Instead, what we saw looked much more like normal aging," said Lithgow. "The iron was causing dysfunction and aggregation in proteins that have already been associated with the衰老的过程。现在我们想知道铁过剩也会老化。”

研究生带领的研究小组通过Ida响声,还与fda批准的金属螯合剂治疗正常线虫CaEDTA——一种药物用于人类铅中毒的危险。铁的药物减缓与年龄相关的积累和扩展健寿和线虫的寿命。巴生也给蠕虫药物基因培育开发特定的蛋白质聚合与人类疾病。螯合剂也保护这些动物。

Lithgow说工作的衰老研究领域具有重要的意义。金属“维持适当的平衡是健康的关键在整个寿命,很明显,这微妙的平衡可以不规则的随着年龄的增长,”他说。“这个现象没有被广泛研究衰老研究人员和这是一个积极的开发潜力区域。”As far as the general public is concerned, Lithgow was quick to warn people away from taking CaEDTA and other available metal chelators as anti-aging medication. "CaEDTA has a very blunt mechanism of action and is associated with dangerous side effects in humans and the track record for other chelators is not well established," said Lithgow, who urged people to talk to their physicians about the use of补铁,特别是绝经后妇女。

Lithgow表示他的实验室希望找到新的螯合剂,像毒品,然后这些药物进入测试老鼠。