A new study shows that the number of copies of certain anti-inflammatory genes in mammals is correlated to longevity. This means that mammals with higher numbers of copies of these genes tend to live longer. In order to show this, scientists bred mice specifically to have less copies of these genes, and the mice showed signs of premature aging and had shorter lives when compared to normal mice. Although inflammation is a necessary part of a healthy immune response, chronic inflammation can lead to many health disorders including celiac disease, alzheimer's disease, and certain cancers. The article continues to say that they are not sure if more copies of this gene causes a longer life, or if living longer causes more copies of the genes to be expressed.
I think it is more likely that having more copies of these genes causes longer lifespans than vice versa. My reasoning for this thought is that if the opposite were true, in any given population you should be able to test for these genes and number of copies expressed at a certain age should be fairly similar for all individuals of a certain age. My thoughts are that you will most likely find a large variation among younger individuals, and as you look at older and older individuals the variation should become less and less. One way to test this hypothesis would be to have a very large group of mice and periodically test them for markers of these genes throughout their lifespans. This information could be compared to longevity.
Nice article, I never knew that chronic inflammation is linked to diseases such as celiacs, alzheimers, and certain cancers. It is also very interesting that the researchers were able to show that a lack of these genes caused premature aging
ReplyDeleteI agree. I am familiar with chronic inflammation causing disease, but I was unaware that it causes premature aging.
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DeleteThis makes sense to me, chronic inflammation and severe inflammation is detrimental to one's health. It makes sense that having more anti-inflammatory genes is a good thing.
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