They found that cells that interpret excess nutrients accelerate aging and shorten life.

A research by CNIO and University of Valencia published in the journal Nature Aging, found that cells that interpret excess nutrients accelerate aging and shorten life. The work proved that cells receive a signal that they have excessdespite a normal diet, which causes organs such as the pancreas, liver and kidneys malfunction and become inflamed. The study suggests that only inflammation may relieve symptoms and increase survival.

According to the academic institution, before With a population aging at an “accelerated” rate, it is important to understand what is happening in the body over time at the molecular level.. It is known that the protein complex is involved in many processes. mTOR, a “key” agent in many body functions and especially metabolism..

This new work now finds in animal models that When mTOR activity increases, but only moderately, aging accelerates and animal lifespan can be reduced by 20 percent.. Thus, in animals whose cells They “believe” they have too many nutrients even though they eat a normal diet..

Considering central role of mTOR in metabolismthis study provides ‘clues’ to understand why Diseases associated with aging appear or worsen in people with a high body mass index.indicator associated with obesity and inflammation.

It also provides information on why Calorie restriction, a type of diet linked to increased longevity in animals, may promote healthy agingbecause certain genes that are activated by nutrient restriction interact with mTOR.

Moreover, it creates new research tool “to study the relationship between increased nutrient intake and aging of various organs”explained lead author Alejo Efeyan, head of the Metabolism and Cell Signaling Group at the National Center for Cancer Research (CNIO).

The first author of the study is Ana Ortega-Molinawho currently directs and collaborates in his Cancer Metabolism and Aging Laboratory at the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology (CBM). Rafael de Cabo from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Bethesda, USA, Consuelo Borras and Daniel Monleon from UF, and Maria Casanova-Acebes, leader of the Cancer Immunity Group at CNIO.

ANIMALS WHO “BELIEVE” THERE IS MORE

Activity of the protein complex mTOR is regulated depending on the amount of nutrients available in the cell.. The authors of this study developed a system that allows “trick” mTOR and thus be able to regulate its activity at will in animal models..

According to UV, the inside of cells “the continuous appearance and disappearance of chemical signals that are transmitted by proteins” (of course, cells also communicate with each other through intercellular signals). Protein complex mTOR is “a key agent in the great highway of cellular communication involved in energy use and cell metabolism.”. It is also known that mTOR influences lifespan, although how is not entirely clear.

To manipulate mTOR activity at will, the CNIO team focused not on mTOR itself, but on a protein that is supposed to send a signal indicating the amount of nutrients available in the cell. The research team genetically modified this protein to tell it to lie and send a signal to mTOR that there are more nutrients in the cell than there actually are.

Thus The mTOR chemical signaling pathway is activated as if animals ate morealthough in reality their diet does not change. When animals with this mTOR-cheating protein reach adulthood, cell function begins to deteriorate and the characteristic symptoms of aging appear.: the skin becomes thinner and appears damage to the pancreas, liver, kidneys and other organs.

Immune system cells come to repair them, but are “overwhelmed” by the amount of damage.they accumulate and instead of repair “They cause inflammation, which further increases problems in these organs.”.

16 YEARS LESS

The result of this vicious circle is that The lifespan of these animals, in which mTOR works more than usual, is reduced by 20 percent.which on a human scale would be equivalent to approximately 16 years.

The study sought to break this cycle blocking the immune response that causes inflammation. The organ damage then improved enough to extend a person’s life by several years.

Thus, the study states that Targeting chronic inflammation is “a potential therapeutic intervention to control deteriorating health.”“, Ortega-Molina emphasized.

According to UV, what happens when mTOR-received information is exposed to mimic nutrient excess resembles the changes typical of natural aging. The CNIO team compared their model to mouse colonies that age naturally.both their own and data from the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

For example, The activity of lysosomes – the organelles through which the cell removes and processes waste – is reduced in both naturally aged animals and genetically modified ones.. “When there is an excess of nutrients, it is logical that the cell turns off the recycling activity of lysosomes, because this recycling is activated especially when there are no nutrients,” Efeyan said.

This A decrease in lysosome activity also occurs during human aging., as confirmed by the UV group when comparing blood samples from young people and people over seventy years of age. University group accepts 20 years of research dedicated to understanding the molecular processes associated with agingto develop effective strategies to promote healthy aging.

Consuelo Borras and Daniel Monleon believe that “this type of collaborative research lays the foundation for a better understanding of the role of nutrition in healthy aging and its relationship to nutrition interventions such as calorie restriction or intermittent fasting.”.

NEW TOOL

Beyond this work, Efeyan believes this new animal model offers “ample fertile ground to ask more questions about how increasing the supply of nutrients or their signaling facilitates processes in various organs that allow us to understand, in particular, their aging. Or, for example, explore links to neurodegenerative diseasesbecause there is some inflammation in the central nervous system. This is a tool that many more people can use.“.