U. of Colorado researchers identify switch that controls agin...( Two University of Colorado at Boulder ...)

U. of Colorado researchers identify switch that controls aging in worms

Two University of Colorado at Boulder researchers working with GenoPlex Inc. in Denver have identified a biological switch that controls lifespan in tiny worms, a finding that could have applications for mammals, including people.

The switch, known as DAF-16, is a protein that can either lengthen or shorten the lifespan in the eyelash-sized roundworm, C. elegans, said CU-Boulder psychology Professor Thomas Johnson. Johnson, who is a fellow in the universitys Institute for Behavioral Genetics, or IBG, said DAF-16 is a critical part of a complex signaling pathway that involves insulin and glucose.

IBG Research Associate and principal author Samuel Henderson and Johnson are publishing a paper Dec. 11 on the topic in the prestigious journal Current Biology. Henderson and Johnson both are associated with GenoPlex.

The key to DAF-16 is whether it penetrates the nucleus of cells, said Henderson. "When it does penetrate the nucleus, it appears to turn on a switch to lengthen roundworm lives."

The switch, which is controlled by food availability, temperature and stress, likely has a homologue, or similar protein, in mammals, including humans, said Johnson. Insulin released with glucose in humans goes up and stores more fat when they consume sugar, inhibiting DAF-16 to enter the nucleus of the cells. It is likely that the same process occurs in other animals, he said.

Henderson has identified a molecule that embodies a trade off, said Johnson. "If DAF-16 is on, it triggers less reproduction, more efficient cell repair and longer lives. On the other hand, if DAF-16 is off, the result is more reproduction, worse cell repair and a shortened lifespan," he said.

Johnson authored a milestone paper in 1990 in Science magazine showing that mutating a single gene in roundworms could double their lifespan -- the first researcher discovered the lifespan of an animal could be increased by genetic mutation. Since then, resear
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Contact: Thomas Johnson
Thomas.Johnson@colorado.edu
303-492-0279
University of Colorado at Boulder
10-Dec-2001

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