Scientists in aging research today report a novel experimental approach that slowed the speed of physical decline and lengthened the lives of roundworms commonly utilized in biological studies, C. elgans.
Their findings are described within the Dec. 30 edition of Nature Aging, a scientific journal within the Springer Nature group.
The lead writer is Brandon J. Berry, a postdoctoral fellow within the laboratory of Matt Kaeberlein, professor of laboratory medicine and pathology on the University of Washington School of Medicine.
The senior and corresponding authors are Shahaf Peleg of the Group on Epigenetics, Metabolism and Longevity on the Institute for Farm Animal Biology in Dummerstorf Germany, and Andrew P. Wojtovich of the University of Rochester Medical Center in Latest York.
Their team is all in favour of discovering ways to directly control the function of mitochondria as a part of their work on longevity. Mitochondria are the powerhouses inside living cells. They play a central role in cellular respiration and energy production, amongst their many critical functions.
Time takes a toll on mitochondria. Also with time, difficulty moving and other signs of growing older start to look in worms, people, and other animals.
Roundworms are commonly utilized in aging studies because they’ve a mean lifetime of only two to 3 weeks. This implies research results can generally be obtained quickly.
The scientists on this latest study desired to learn more concerning the role of mitochondrial dysfunction on roundworm aging, and whether a few of this deterioration may very well be stalled or reversed.
Mitochondria are encased in a double membrane. The within layer is pleated like an accordion. In previous modeling studies by others, the voltage potential (the capability to maneuver charged particles) across the inner membrane was observed to wane with age.
Why this happens is a very important query in aging research. The mitochondrial membrane potential drives lots of the vital tasks of those cell organelles, including energy molecule production, immune signaling, and genetic regulation.
Because the researchers indicate of their paper, “Decreased mitochondrial membrane potential is a horny explanation for the complex dysfunctions of aging. Nonetheless, it’s unclear if lessening of the mitochondria voltage potential is a cause or a consequence of cellular aging.”
To try to satisfy the elusive goal of testing causality, the researchers used a way called optogenetics, which channels light to exactly control a biological process inside a cell. They were in a position to specifically boost the mitochondrial membrane potential within the adult roundworms’ cells through a light-activated proton pump. They called this tool “mitochondria-ON.”
Roundworms have transparent bodies, and all their cells are visible under a microscope, characteristics that also lend themselves to this approach.
The juvenile worm populations prepared for this study were kept without light during their development until Day 1 of their maturity. Then they were exposed to the experimental conditions.
By rejuvenating the roundworms’ mitochondrial membrane potential with the optogenetics technique, the scientists reversed a few of the age-associated signs of aging of their three different strains and reproducibly prolonged the lifespan of the treated worms, in comparison with untreated worms.
Within the roundworms, the researchers noted, “We were in a position to show that harnessing the energy of sunshine to experimentally increase mitochondrial membrane during maturity is alone sufficient to slow the speed of aging.”
Roundworms, like people, are likely to have more trouble moving as they age. Despite their growing older, the mitochondria-ON activation improved the beating rate of worms placed in liquid.
Those results, the scientists noted, appear to suggest that age-related physiologic decline within the roundworms could be improved by directly reversing the lack of mitochondrial voltage potential that happens with the passage of time.
Source:
Journal reference:
Berry, B.J., et al. (2022) Optogenetic rejuvenation of mitochondrial membrane potential extends C. elegans lifespan. Nature Aging. doi.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00340-7.