A group of mainly Japanese researchers has extended the lifespans of worms and flies by suppressing a specific protein in them, raising the prospect of applying the method to lengthen human lives.
The group, led by Prof. Tamotsu Yoshimori of Osaka University, an expert in cell biology, reported that by suppressing the activity of a protein called Rubicon, they extended the lifespan of worms and flies.
Rubicon, which Yoshimori and other scientists discovered in 2009, impairs "autophagy," a self-eating mechanism in the body that cleans out damaged proteins in cells and regenerates new ones.
Yoshimori and his team found that the amount of Rubicon in worms and flies increased by 50 to 100 percent as they aged. Suppressing the protein by genetically engineering them expanded their lifespans by up to 20 percent. It also slowed the decline in their mobility.
Prof. Mitsunori Fukuda of Tohoku University, whose field is also cell biology, described the achievement as "extremely interesting" to The Yomiuri Shimbun.
"I would like to hear next why the lifespan expands when Rubicon disappears," he said.
The finding was published Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Communications.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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