One of prominent signs of aging is chronic inflammation, which is the result of the body’s immune mechanisms wearing off. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which all people fear, arise from such breakdowns, scientists confirmed in multiple studies.
But is it possible for the condition known as chronic inflammation to be reversed? Researchers found a molecular mechanism how to switch it off, which promises a chance to reverse aging.
Turning off the ‘aging’ switch
Californian researchers from Berley found a “switch” that could stop various degenerative conditions from progressing further or even potentially turn back the cellular clock.
The associate professor Danica Chen pointed out that insulin resistance and inflammation have been long associated with degenerative illnesses.
It is a cluster of certain proteins which causes a strong immune response called inflammasome that creates such potential threat to the human body. The scientists managed to show that it is possible to switch off this process by removing a part of molecular matter via the process called deacetylation. This is done using certain chemical reagents.
The role of over-activation of the inflammasome has been also linked to deceases such as cancer, diabetes, and dementia.
If this process is halted via deacetylation, potentially the progression of such conditions could be halted. Chances are, it is potentially possible to reverse age-related degeneration altogether.
If acetylation switches the process on, the opposite reaction turns it off.
Researchers identified which protein is responsible for deacetylation (SIRT2). They checked how it works in experiments on lab animals and demonstrated consistently that this protein could switch off the over-activation of inflammasome.
So, now it could be just a matter of time for researchers to be able to come with a human-safe drug to serve the same purpose.
Would you like to live healthy for longer? Human’s ability to study the molecular machinery of our bodies gives us a promise this could be a reality one day.
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