The chemical signals that regulate our genome, known as epigenetic marks, are degraded over time, according to a study published inPNAS. Given thethese epigenetic lesions are reversible, drugs could be developed that increase life time.
While the genome of all our cells remains intact throughout our lives, its chemical regulation varies as we age and depending on environmental conditions. The most common epigenetic mark is methylation, which consists of the addition of methyl chemical groups to DNA.
The researchers, from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (Barcelona),compared the epigenomes of white blood cells from a newborn, a middle-aged person, and a 103-year-old.The results revealed that the epigenome of the older individual had lost many methyl groups, responsible for turning off the expression of inappropriate genes or activating the expression of protective genes.
“Extending the results to a large group of neonates, individuals located in the middle point and nonagenarians or centenarians, we realize that it is a progressive process in which each day that passes the epigenome twists”, explains Manel Esteller, one of the authors. However, “epigenetic lesions, unlike genetic ones, are reversible and, therefore, modification of DNA methylation patterns due to dietary changes or the use of drugs could induce an increase in life span”.
We still do not know if in the future we will be able to live 1,000 years, but current research is clarifying many factors related to aging, so the development of drugs that increase life expectancy could no longer be a science fiction dream.
