Researchers Uncover Mechanism That May Slow The Aging Process - A ...

?DNA contains all of the genetic instructions that make us who we are, and maintaining the integrity of our DNA over the course of a lifetime is a critical, yet complex part of the aging process. In an important, albeit early step forward, scientists have discovered how DNA maintenance is regulated, opening the door to interventions that may enhance the body?s natural preservation of genetic information.?

According to Robert Bambara, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center, new methods may some day be available to slow the aging process and any associated age-related diseases by maintaining our DNA in good condition. Loss and/or damage to our genetic makeup are what make individuals more susceptible to cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer?s, as we age.

?The finding builds on past research, which established that as humans evolved, we created two routes for DNA replication and repair ? a standard route that eliminates some damage and a moderate amount of errors, and an elite route that eliminates the large majority of damage and errors from our DNA.?

Simply put, DNA replicates when a double-stranded DNA molecule is duplicated to create two identical copies. Both the original and duplicate molecules separate. A strand of each separated molecule then reconnects with a strand from the opposing molecule.

Next, standard route DNA will tag, cut and remove the first 20% of each separate DNA strand, while elite route DNA tag, cut and remove 30% ? 40% of errors. The leftover empty space is then filled with the more accurate strand of the adjoining piece of DNA.

However, researchers have never quite understood the mechanism that determines the given path of each piece of DNA. Bambara and colleagues have discovered that a process called acetylation regulates the maintenance of our DNA by determining the reliability of its replication and repair throughout life. The key is to push more DNA molecules down the elite route in order to maintain healthier DNA, longer.

?A medication that would cause a small alteration in this acetylation-based regulatory mechanism might change the average onset of cancers or neurological diseases to well beyond the current human lifespan.? said Lata Balakrishnan, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate at the Medical Center.

Now scientists can keep attempting to manipulate DNA so that it can be forced to travel down the right path to prolong life and the onset of age-related diseases. Nevertheless, from a moral standpoint, is this type of science heading down the right path?

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Source: http://ahealthblog.net/health-news/researchers-uncover-mechanism-that-may-slow-the-aging-process.html

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