GENE SWITCH IS A NEW WRINKLE ON IMPACTS OF AGEING
The need for expensive anti-ageing creams could one day be a thing of the past after scientists discovered a way to reverse wrinkles by “switching off the ageing gene”.
The breakthrough could also put an end to baldness after tests showed hair grew back when the gene was targeted.
One of the causes for ageing and baldness is when the body’s cells start to slow down.
The mitochondria, the part of the cell responsible for energy, stops working as well and the cell stops regenerating the way it used to.
But scientists at the University of Birmingham in Alabama, US, believe they’ve found a way of turning off the gene responsible for that process.
They found a mutation that caused mitochondrial dysfunction in mice, triggering visible hair loss and wrinkles within a matter of weeks.
When they switched off this mutation the mice grew thick fur and their skin became smoother – the same as a healthy mouse of the same age.
In humans the decline of the mitochondria in the cell is also linked to age-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and neurological diseases.
Scientists used the antibiotic doxycycline, often used to treat bacterial infections such as acne and pneumonia, to induce ageing in the cells of the mice.
After four weeks they showed grey thinning hair, ageing and lethargy.
Their skin also became thicker, more inflamed and their hair follicles stopped regenerating.
But when the mutation that damaged the cells was switched off by stopping the antibiotics, the mice returned to how they had looked before.
Lead author Keshav Singh, a professor of genetics at the university, said, “To our knowledge, this observation is unprecedented.
“It suggests that epigenetic mechanisms underlying mitochondria-to-nucleus cross-talk must play an important role in the restoration of normal skin and hair phenotype.”
In other words, the research suggests the mitochondria plays an important role in the ageing process and should be investigated further to determine new ways of reversing ageing. In the meantime, it is probably best to stick to your usual routines.