Genes from people over 100 may one day help others stay heart-healthy, some exciting new research suggests.
A group of British and Italian researchers it has found A certain mutated gene in so-called “supergenerics” could be used to help people with heart failure more than a century old turn back their clocks within a decade; Very useful study Published in the magazine Cardiovascular research.
Build on Finding gene variants associated with longevity In the year Called BPIFB4 in 2018, the researchers ran tests on human cells in test tubes and later on mice to see if they could turn back the biological clock when the genes were introduced in the lab instead of being inherited.
Intriguingly, they found that exposure to damaged cells could prevent or even reverse the aging of the heart.
“Cells of elderly patients, especially the “pericytes” that support the formation of new blood vessels, were found to be less efficient and older,” said Monica Cattaneno, a researcher at the Multimedica Group in Italy and in collaboration. – Author, b press release.
“By adding a longevity gene/protein in a test tube, we observed a process of cardiac regeneration—the heart cells of elderly heart failure patients continued to function properly and were more efficient at building new blood vessels,” Cattaneo added.
The researchers found that those same cells appeared to have reduced expression of BPIFB4. In other words, people who are prone to developing heart problems may actually be. Lost This key longevity protein.
Professor and co-author Paolo Madedu of the University of Bristol said these findings suggest that introducing the protein into cells could be a gene therapy option for patients with heart problems. A promising branch of medicineIt still has many related risks including Chances of getting cancer.
“Our findings confirm that a healthy mutation in the gene can reverse the decline in cardiac performance in the elderly,” Madedu said in a press release. “Now we’re interested in finding out if giving a protein instead of a gene might work.”
Obviously, this type of treatment will take years to perfect — but regardless, it could be a major victory in the battle against heart disease.
More on genetics: Scientist Gregor Mendel thought he would be “happy” to dig up his body to study genetics.