Scientists have reversed the process of wrinkle formation
Researchers have succeeded in reversing in mice the most characteristic signs of the aging process – the appearance of wrinkles on the skin and hair loss. Scientists have done this by turning off the expression of the gene responsible for mitochondrial dysfunction.
Wrinkled sk ra and hair loss are the most characteristic features of the aging process. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified a mutation that leads to dysfunction of mitochondri. The D1135A-POLG1 mutation causes the appearance of extensive wrinkles and hair loss in mice .
When scientists przywr cili the normal functions of mitochondria by turning off the expression of the gene responsible for the dysfunction in mice, noted the rapid return of the t to smooth sk ry and thick fur. Mouse, which ra had extensive wrinkles and was almost all bald, after kr At that time, it was impossible to unravel sons from a healthy mouse of the same age.
– To our knowledge, this observation is unprecedented,” said Keshav Singh, professor of genetics at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. The results of the study appeared in the journal „Cell Death & Disease”.
The mutation, which ra is responsible for wrinkling and hair loss , is linked to a nuclear gene that affects mitochondrial function – com rk power plants. Mitochondria present in most com rec produce about 90 percent of the. Energy required for survival.
A decline in mitochondrial function has been observed in humans with age, and mitochondrial dysfunction can induce different diseases. DNA loss in mitochondria has implications for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, age-related neurological disorder or cancer.
– Our study should provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop therapeutic and prophylactic pharmacological strategies to enhance mitochondrial function to treat sk dysfunction ry associated with aging and hair loss and other diseases b, in which rych mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role – explained Singh.
Researchers induced the mutation in eight-week-old mice by adding an antibiotic – doxycycline into food or drinking water. This resulted in depletion of mitochondrial DNA, as the enzyme for DNA replication (polymerase) became inactive.
After just four weeks, the mice developed changes that resembled natural aging – reduced hair density , their loss, slowed movements and lethargy. The appearance of wrinkles was observed four to eight weeks after the induction of mutation of the. Interestingly, females had larger and more extensive wrinkles than males.
But researchers have managed to reverse ck these signs. One month after discontinuing the administration of doxycycline to mice, the rodents were unable to regr tion from the control group.
The same mouse before doxycycline administration (left), after dw ch months of doxycycline induction (center) and one month after stopping the antibiotic (right). Photo. UAB
The researchers also observed other changes. Sk ra mice, in which rs induced with the mutation showed an increased number of com rek sk ry, abnormal thickening of the outer layer, dysfunctional hair follicles and inflammation. All these changes contributed to the pathology of sk ry.
Mice with depleted mitochondrial DNA showed also altered expression of four markers associated with aging in the com rks. Sk ra also showed a disruption of the the balance between matrix metalloproteinase enzymes and their tissue-specific inhibitor – their The balance is essential for the maintenance of wł collagenous cienes in sk r, which re prevent wrinkling of the sk ry.
Reverse price of mutations in the parasites It reduced the function of mitochondrial , as also reversr ciated pathology sk ry and hair. This showed that mitochondria are reversible regulators of aging sk ry and hair loss. – Epigenetic mechanisms underlying mitochondrial permeabilization to the nucleus must play an important role in restoring the normal phenotype of sk ry and hair. Further experiments are needed to determine whether phenotypic changes in other organs can be also reverse tion by adducting price of mitrochondrial DNA – Singh said.
