'Longevity' gene that enhances exercise performance found.Byline: ANI Washington, August 20 (ANI): In an animal study, researchers at the University of Missouri (MU) found gene therapy with a proven "longevity" gene to energize en·er·gize v. en·er·gized, en·er·giz·ing, en·er·giz·es v.tr. 1. To give energy to; activate or invigorate: "His childhood during exercise. Writing about their study in the Public Library of Science - ONE, the researchers expressed the hope that their findings might be applicable to humans in future, and shed light on how to increase the level and quality of activity in the elderly. "Aging is one of the biggest challenges to a modern society. A pressing issue in the elderly is the loss of activity. What one really wants is not a simple lifespan prolongation but rather a health span increase. After gene therapy with a 'longevity' gene, we studied how well the mice performed on treadmill exercises. We found that the gene therapy worked well and the mice functioned better after the treatment," said Dongsheng Duan, an associate professor of molecular microbiology and immunology. Studies conducted in the past have already shown that mice live longer when their genome is altered to carry a gene known as mitochondria-targeted catalase catalase /cat·a·lase/ (kat´ah-las) a hemoprotein enzyme that catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen, protecting cells. gene (MCAT MCAT abbr. Medical College Admissions Test MCAT Medical college admission test, pronounced, EM-cat A preadmission exam administered by the Psychological Corp., required in the US before entrance to medical school. ). Such approaches, however, would not be applicable to human. Duan and post-doctoral researcher Dejia Li took a different approach: they placed the MCAT gene inside a benign virus A prank virus that does not cause damage. It does such things as randomly displaying a message on screen declaring "Peace on Earth" or causing the computer to make a clicking sound every time a key is pressed on some famous person's birthday. Fortunately, most viruses are benign. , and injected the virus into the mice. Thereafter, the researchers tested the mice, and found that they could run farther, faster and longer than other mice of the same age and sex. Duan attributes the performance enhancement to the MCAT, and believes the gene is responsible for removing toxic substances, known as free radicals, from the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell. "Our results suggest similar therapy may one day improve the life quality of the elderly. This could have important implications for many diseases, such as muscular dystrophy muscular dystrophy (dĭs`trōfē), any of several inherited diseases characterized by progressive wasting of the skeletal muscles. There are five main forms of the disease. , heart disease, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases neurodegenerative diseases diseases characterized by neurodegeneration. Lesions are microscopic only but in chronic disease with massive involvement there may be grossly visible atrophy of affected nervous tissue. . These patients typically have too many toxic free radicals in their cells," Duan said. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion