A study conducted by researchers from KAIST e published in the journal Science Advances it is providing new insights into a cellular energy pathway that has been linked to a longer lifespan.
The research of the team KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) it is conducted on human cells and nematodes. It opens up the prospect of anti-aging therapies which, by activating this cellular pathway, can prolong life span.
AMPK (adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase)
It is an enzyme that acts as a metabolic switch. It has been described as a protein that confers broad beneficial health effects. From improving cardiovascular health to extending lifespan. It is activated in response to low levels of cellular energy, such as during exercise or during periods of calorie restriction.
A growing volume of studies has found that activating AMPK in animal models leads to dramatic increases in lifespan, prompting an increase in research investigating this enzyme.
The new KAIST study focused on this path in a small nematode, the caenorhabditis elegans, often used by researchers as a model for studying lifespan.
VRK-1, the anti aging partner
Researchers discovered an enzyme called VRK-1 that works in tandem with AMPK to regulate cellular energy processes and ultimately the longevity.
Increasing VRK-1 activity in nematodes extended the organisms' lifespan by stimulating AMPK activity. Inhibiting the enzyme instead shortened its duration. Moving on to tests in laboratory cells, the researchers verified that this VRK-1 to AMPK mechanism also appears to occur in human cells, suggesting that it is possible that the lifespan-extending results could be replicated in us too.
Increase lifespan
These studies raise the possibility that VRK-1 also functions as a factor in human longevity. We may begin to develop drugs that increase lifespan by regulating VRK-1 activity.
Seung-Jae V. Lee, first author of the research.
A promising dawn for anti aging treatments
The Korean studio is still in the early stages of development. The next steps will be to explore the effects of modulating VRK-1 activity in more complex animal models of nematodes: for example rodents. Lee says success in replicating this dynamic of the anti-aging enzymes VRK-1 and AMPK in human cells is very, very important.
The path is almost certainly relevant in a large number of complex organisms, and it is necessary to understand how to exploit it for therapeutic results.
