Anti-aging molecule successfully restores multiple markers of...
Dr Singularity@Dr_Singularity
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Jul 17, 2024
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Anti-aging molecule successfully restores multiple markers of youth. In pre-clinical trials, a small molecule effectively regrew neurons, reduced inflammation, and improved memory, speed, coordination, grip strength, and more. The finding could have a profound impact on aging and the diseases that accompany it.
In conducting the research, scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, turned their focus to telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), an enzyme that is known to help synthesize and extend telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that help cells divide. TERT levels are reduced as we age.
So the researchers screened over 650,000 compounds to find a molecule that could reactivate TERT in mice that were the equivalent of 75 years old in human terms. They found one, and after administering this TERT-activating compound (TAC) to the rodents for six months, they witnessed the formation of new neurons in the memory centers of their brains known as the hippocampus, which helped the mice improve their performance on cognitive tests. This corresponded to an increase in genes involved in memory and learning.
Additionally, the researchers found that TAC reversed sarcopenia in the mice, which is another word for the natural weakening of muscle mass, strength, and coordination as we age. This was measured by stronger grip strength, speed, coordination and neuromuscular function in the mice.
Finally administration of TAC also reduced a process called inflammaging, the build up of inflammatory markers responsible for multiple diseases as we age. This was linked to TAC's ability to repress the p16 gene, a key factor in cellular aging.
newatlas.com/biology/tac-an…
In conducting the research, scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, turned their focus to telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), an enzyme that is known to help synthesize and extend telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes that help cells divide. TERT levels are reduced as we age.
So the researchers screened over 650,000 compounds to find a molecule that could reactivate TERT in mice that were the equivalent of 75 years old in human terms. They found one, and after administering this TERT-activating compound (TAC) to the rodents for six months, they witnessed the formation of new neurons in the memory centers of their brains known as the hippocampus, which helped the mice improve their performance on cognitive tests. This corresponded to an increase in genes involved in memory and learning.
Additionally, the researchers found that TAC reversed sarcopenia in the mice, which is another word for the natural weakening of muscle mass, strength, and coordination as we age. This was measured by stronger grip strength, speed, coordination and neuromuscular function in the mice.
Finally administration of TAC also reduced a process called inflammaging, the build up of inflammatory markers responsible for multiple diseases as we age. This was linked to TAC's ability to repress the p16 gene, a key factor in cellular aging.
newatlas.com/biology/tac-an…
