Role of 'Junk DNA' In Aging and Cancer

Researchers at Washington State University have recently identified a region of DNA known as VNTR2-1 that controls the activity of the telomerase gene. The telomerase gene controls the activity of an enzyme that is responsible for producing telomeres. In normal cells, the length of the telomeres get shorter after each division leading to aging and cell death. In certain cell types, such as reproductive cells and cancer cells, the telomerase gene ensures that the length of the telomere is not shortened. Jiyue Zhu and his team's latest finding of the VNTR2-1 region is notable because it is found in the region of DNA considered as 'junk DNA'. This DNA is usually considered as DNA with little purpose. Their findings support that this region is responsible for aging and cancer. The researchers deleted the DNA sequence in cancer cells causing the telomeres to shorten which led the cells to age and die. These findings show that the reason why we get cancer is more complicated than a mutation of an oncogene. The region of the DNA we used to believed served no purpose is a lot more complicated than we used to think.

Telomeres and Biological Immortality

 Lobsters are remarkable creatures, both in taste, and in the fact that they cannot die to old age; lobsters are biologically immortal. In order to understand why the lobster is biologically immortal, it would be important to first understand what biological immortality means. Biological immortality is not the same as regular immortality; the organism can still die. Biological immortality simply means that the organism will not die due to old age, and this can be through several different processes. The main process I will be focusing on in this post is with regards to telomeres through the lens of lobsters. The lobster’s biological immortality is due to their ability to produce telomerase in each cell type, so that DNA does not degrade due to their telomeres becoming too small/running out. Telomeres are small regions at the ends of DNA sequences, that act as a sort of buffer, so that none of the important DNA gets lost due to cell division. Little bits of the telomeres are lost each time a cell divides, and so the cell “ages” with each subsequent division. This “aging” of cells is true for most human cells, and they will eventually die because their telomere caps run out, which leads to the degradation of the vital DNA. Though this is the fate of most cells, there are certain cells that have telomerase, which lengthens the telomere caps. Since practically all cell types in lobsters have telomerase, there is essentially no cell “aging” due to division, making it impossible for them to die of old age. What particularly interests me about this topic is the commercial viability of telomerase treatments in humans. What if we were able to stop the biological clocks, and live longer lives? This, of course, brings with it two very important draw backs. First, is this ethical? Should humans “play God” when it comes to our biology? Another question is if people are living longer, how are we going to feed a population that would grow rather rapidly due to there being less deaths? 

Dolly The Sheep

The Roslin Institute became a historical institute when they were the first company/place to clone a mammal from an adult cell. Dolly was cloned from a cell taken from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep and an egg taken from a Scottish Blackface sheep. One reason this was very important was because it opened up the doors for many scientist who and specialize in stem cells. One difference between Dolly and a regular sheep was the telomeres, which is involved the aging in organisms. After many sheep, including Dolly, got cancer, Dolly had to be put down because she was losing much of her function. The whole national frenzy occurred back in the last 1990s, and although we can say it was very cool, it was more importantly treasured for the pathway into the type of research and other types of testing in genetics.

https://dolly.roslin.ed.ac.uk/facts/the-life-of-dolly/index.html

https://www.tacsciences.com/what-is-a-telomere.html

You'll age quicker if your parents had bipolar disorder: Cells shrink and break quicker in those with a family history of the mental illness

Bipolar disorder in parents is linked to faster ageing in relatives. The study was conducted by King's College London researches with help from a team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Healthy relatives of those suffering from bipolar disease had shorter telomeres. Telomeres shorten each time a cell divides. They shorten till they are totally degraded and cells are no longer able to divide. The findings also showed promise for the main drug used to treat bipolar disease. Bipolar patients treated with lithium have been discovered to have longer telomeres compared to those on other drugs providing hope for patients who suffer from the disease

Predicting Longevity May Be Simpler Than Thought

People always wonder how long they will live for. It is a question that is always pondered which has made scientists begin researching ways to determine lifespans. One thing that has been researched is DNA. In particular, scientists have been looking into length of the ends of DNA strands. The ends of these strands are called telomeres. Telomeres shrink as a person ages. Telomeres are said to act as a “molecular clock” and ever since people have been fascinated trying to find the length of telomeres to predict ones death. There have been new studies conducted that show that using telomere length to predict death was just better than a 50% chance.  A person’s actual age was determined to be the single best predictor of ones death. Senior research investigator at Georgetown University’s Center for Population and Health, Dana Glei, has said that using telomere length to predict when someone will die has been exaggerated by the media and companies may be promising more than they can actually do. There are much simpler factors that can be used to determine how long you will live, such as cognitive function, smoking, exercise, and measure of kidney function. These methods are much less expensive and a lot easier to find out a lifespan. To test telomere length, blood is collected, DNA is extracted, and then the telomere length is measured. This is an expensive process. Glei added that there are “test-your-own-telomere-length kits” however buyers should be cautious and know the facts.

Personally, I would not want to know when I was going to die. I think that can significantly alter a person’s life.  However, there are always people out there that will want to know the answer to this question. I think a lot more research needs to be conducted on DNA to determine whether or not it can actually give a timetable on someone’s life or how accurate it actually is. I think that the more simpler methods mentioned in the article, such as exercise, a person’s age, if one smokes, etc., should be looked at and used to determine lifespans. I think more research on these topics should be done as well to see if there is a cheaper and easier way to find out how long you will live for.

 Links:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/telomeres/

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-04-07/predicting-longevity-may-be-simpler-than-thought

Discovery of a mechanism that controls the fitness of cells has been found.

     Scientists at The UT Southwestern Medical Center uncovered a mechanism that controls the fitness of cells. The cell biologist team say they may be able to explain the aging of cells and how they initiate and transmit diseases by a mechanism involving the end caps of DNA. They discovered that the telomeres form loops that determine whether or not certain genes are turned off when young and are activated later in life. These genes contribute to aging and diseases. 

     Dr. Jerry W, leader of the team, said "Our results suggest a potential novel mechanism for how the length of telomeres may silence genes early in life and then contribute to their activation later in life when telomeres are progressively shortened. This is a new way of gene regulation that is controlled by telomere length." 

     As known, telomeres cap the ends of the cell's chromosomes to protect them from damage. However, each time the cell divides, the telomeres become shorter and once they reach a certain length, the cell can’t divide anymore. When it can’t divide, it goes into a phase known as “growth-arrest phase” and begins to produce different products than the younger cell produced. The telomere shortening has been shown to influence which genes are active or silent in some diseases.

     The team showed that when a telomere is long, the endcap can form a loop with the chromosome that brings the telomere close to genes once thought of as too far away to be regulated by telomere length. Once the telomere and “new” genes on the same chromosome are close enough to each other, the telomeres switch those genes to be “off.” The team also showed that when telomeres are short, the chromosome does not form a loop. Without this loop, the telomere can decide to turn that target gene on or off.

     Dr. Wright said, "We have developed the concept that telomere shortening could be used as a timing mechanism to respond to physiological changes in very long-lived organisms, such as humans, to optimize fitness in an age-appropriate fashion."

     This new discovery could potentially cure diseases that are due to the aging of cells. If a treatment can be discovered to help promote the looping of these telomeres before they become that critically short length, the possibilities of cures are endless. 

Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141115083112.htm

Meditation Can Change Your Cells

Benefitting your health with beliefs of being happy, mindful, and meditating have always been skeptical. Recently researchers in Canada found evidence that suggests that support groups for cancer survivors who encouraged yoga and meditation can actually affect the cancer survivors at the cellular level.

The study recently posted in the journal Cancer suggests that there is actually a connection between the mind and they body. They found that the telomeres of the survivors stayed the same length in those who meditated or went to support groups over a three-month period. Those survivors who did not participate clearly showed shorter telomeres within the three-month study.

It is still unknown whether or not telomeres are actually involved in regulating disease, but early evidence can suggests that shortened telomeres are linked to surviving some diseases as well as aging the cells. The longer the telomeres are thought to help protect individuals from disease.

"We already know that psychosocial interventions like mindfulness meditation will help you feel better mentally, but now for the first time we have evidence that they can also influence key aspects of your biology," said Linda Carlson, the lead investigator at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and psychosocial researcher. She and scientists from the University of Calgary conducted the study. Carlson was surprised that differences in the telomere length was shown at all. It is still early in the research and further investigation into this potential health benefits are needed.

Eighty-eight breast cancer survivors who completed their treatment over three months ago were monitored during the research. Their average age was 55 and all seemed to have high levels of emotional distress which was required to be able to participate in the study. These survivors were split into three groups. One group attended 8 weekly 90-minute group sessions which provided instructions on mindfulness meditation and gentle yoga. They were also asked to practice at home for 45 minutes daily. The second group met up 90 minutes every week for three months and were encouraged to speak about their thoughts/concerns and feelings. And the third group only attended one six-hour stress management seminar.

The participants had their blood analyzed as well as their telomere length measured both before and after the study. The two groups who regularly attended support groups maintained their telomere length over the three-month period as well as lower stress levels and better moods. The third group showed shortened telomeres. It is not known if these benefits will be long term or what is truly causing the biological effects. More research is to be done to see whether or not the results are replicable with larger numbers of participants and what the long-term health benefits there will be (if any).

This is a huge first step towards understanding more about how our mental state affects our physical state. This is one part of the growing body of research currently going on in the world. Although the research is still skeptical to many, I believe it will be very interesting to see what comes out of further trials.

Article: http://www.sciencealert.com/world-first-evidence-suggests-that-meditation-alters-cancer-survivors-cells

Related Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/ahs-ssc103114.php

Soft Drinks May Be Linked to Accelerated DNA Aging

In a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of California, it was determined that  individuals who consumed one 12 oz bottle of soda each day showed DNA changes consistent with cells 4.6 years or older.  In this study, 5,309 adults between the ages of 20-65 were polled on their soft-drink consumption habit.  The researchers then analyzed DNA from each individual's white blood cells.  It is important to note that the consumption of sugary soft drinks is also linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

A 20 oz soft drink contains a whopping 16 tsp of sugar, so you might want to 

think twice before you decide to send all of that sugar rushing into your blood stream.

Researchers discovered that telomeres were shorter in individuals who continually drank sugary soft drinks.  Telomeres become shorter each time cells divide and are often indicators of human lifespan.  Shortened telomeres could be the result of sugar rushing into the bloodstream after the consumption of a soft drink, which is known to cause oxidative stress and inflammation.  Researchers call this, "the perfect storm for degrading telomeres."  It is believed that soft drinks may be a large contributor to why we have such a huge epidemic of obesity and early disease onset.  Dr. Elissa Epel stated, "regular consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas might influence disease development, not only by straining the body's metabolic control of sugars, but also through accelerated cellular aging of tissue."

Telomeres are the DNA caps on the ends of chromosomes and 

they are considered to be indicators of human life span.

This article grabbed by attention, as a have stayed away from the consumption of soft drinks for so long due to the myriad of negative side effects: increased risk of diabetes, carmel coloring (may be linked to cancer), tooth decay, and many others.  After reading this article, it appears another negative side effect can be added to the list.  I find it extremely fascinating that researchers have determined that individuals who regularly consume soft drinks have shorter telomeres.  This study could have a profound impact on the future of human health.    

Article [1]: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/now-trending-study-shows-soft-drinks-may-be-linked-to-accelerated-dna-aging/article21193196/

Related Articles:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/drinking-soda-each-day-has-accelerating-effect-    cellular-aging-may-cut-46-years-life-307495
http://www.laweekly.com/squidink/2014/10/21/drinking-soda-may-accelerate-aging-as-much-as-smoking

  

Stressful Environments May Lead To Genetic Defects

A recent study done by a research team led by Daniel Notterman examined the genetic effects of stressful upbringings. They examined 40 9-year-old black boys and found that those who grew up in disadvantaged environments have 19 percent shorter telomeres than their advantaged peers. Telomeres are DNA sequences which live at the end of each chromosome, protecting the ends from damage and vary in length by person, and shrink with age. They also reported that boys with genetic sensitivities to their environment have shorter telomeres after experiencing stressful social environments tha the telomeres of boys without the genetic sensitivities.

Notterman and his team limited there sample size to those that had given saliva samples at age 9, those who had black or African American mothers, and those who had provided complete information about their social environments. Of the 40 boys, half were raised in disadvantaged environments which was characterized as low household income, low maternal education, an unstable family structure and harsh parenting. Another Professor who studies population health stated that this work adds to the growing body of research related to the role of chronic stress in health inequalities, especially among the poor.

I think this is a wonderful study because there are too few studies focused on African American children in this context. This type of study really highlights the importance of early intervention to moderate disparities in social and educational opportunities because it really is shocking how profound the effect is by such a young age. At just 9 years of age these genetic effects from chronic stress are already prevalent and may lead to accelerated aging and higher susceptibility to illnesses. It’s also a very interesting fact that this study was done using saliva rather than blood. This innovation can lead to more simplistic studies of our telomeres at various points in time and can indicate how our social environment may affecting our DNA. In my opinion any further research that increases our knowledge of how these telomeres and how they affect our body is exciting because knowing more about a potential biological clock can have a profound results.

Article Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140409103331.html

Related Link: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/telomeres/

Stress can affect your genome

Daniel Notterman has discovered that stressful living environments may alter telomeres. Telomeres are nucleotide sequences that are located on the ends of chromatids that protect the genetic information in the chromosome during replication.  Daniel studied 40 nine-year old African American children from different backgrounds and life style. He took DNA samples during different stages of life along with the life style changes. What he found was that the children who grew up in stressful situation have telomeresthat were 40% shorter.  While they have not been able to discover the reason for the change it does add an interesting argument to the "Nature vs Nurture" debate.

Gene linked to family history of melanoma

Researchers have found that there is a  type of melanoma that runs in families that may be caused by a fault in a gene that helps protect people from ageing. Researches said that these findings were found through the DNA sequencing of families with a history of early-onset melanoma. This breakthrough will help to identify the many people that are at high risk of melanoma. The study done looked at 184 melanoma cases from 105 families.

The analysis of the DNA sequencing pointed out mutations of the gene, POT1, as increasing family member's risk for melanoma. POT1 is found in a protein complex known as shelterin, which plays a critical role in stopping the degradation of telomeres. Shelterin protects and maintains the telomere from damage and regulates the enzyme telomerase, which maintains chromosome length by replacing the short bits of telomere lost during cell division. When the telomeres become too short, the chromosome cannot replicate, which means cell dies. 

"We don't want telomerase working too well because then it causes its own problems … in terms of rearrangement of chromosomes," he says.

"There is a very tight balance between how well telomerase should elongate the DNA on the end of each chromosome … a Goldilock's amount, not too little, not too much, there is this sweet spot where it is just right," says Nick Hayward. he also says that mutations in POT1 stop this process working properly, leading to longer telomeres as the telomerase keeps adding new DNA. "Melanoma is odd in relation to all other cancer types. In other cancer types short telomeres are actually related to predisposition, so it is telling us somehow the mechanism is different," he says.

 The finding that faults in POT1 lead to predisposition which will help identify people at high risk of developing melanoma.

The choice between coffee or beer could have an effect on genome

         A study from the Tel Aviv University’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology reveals that coffee and beer may affect our genomes differently. Alcohol was found to lengthen and caffeine was found to shorten telomeres in yeast that is genetically similar to humans. Telomeres are located at the ends of DNA strands and are crucial to the correct repairing and copying of DNA strands. The yeast cells were exposed to twelve environmental stressors that did not affect telomere length, except for the presence of ethanol and caffeine. In the presence of 5-7% ethanol solution, the telomeres grew in length. In the presence of a small concentration of caffeine, the telomeres decreased in length. Rap1 and Rif1 were the two genes identified that were identified to play a role in environmental factors and telomere length. There are about 400 genes that play a role in telomere length, most of which are in humans. More work must be done to reveal if these factors will have the same effects on humans. The identification of a relationship between these environmental stressors and telomere length could lead to dietary guidelines and treatments.

            Another study of the effects of coffee consumption showed differing results. A study of older adults found that those who drank coffee saw decreased risk of death from diabetes, accidents, and injuries, respiratory disease, stroke, infections, and heart disease. The risk of death was 10% lower in those who consumed three of more cups a day than non- coffee drinkers.

            Coffee or beer? I found that the fact that the choice could affect our genomes to be rather interesting. As the leader of the study stated, this is the first time environmental factors that affect telomere length have been found. I did not realize that the discovery of the relationship between coffee or beer consumption and telomere length could be significant. Yet, it was brought to light that the relationship could be used in medical treatment. I am curious to see if the relationship will exist when the study is conducted for humans.

Primary Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131205142127.htm

Secondary Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120519071454.htm