Scientists identify part of gene that can help people live longer

LONGEVITY GENE HAS BEEN STUDIED TO CURE AGE AND LIFESTYLE RELATED DISEASES

Scientists at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) have made a breakthrough in the search for genetic cures for diseases such as obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart diseases.

They identified a region in the so called longevity gene that could help pharmaceutical companies design medicines that can provide highly targeted therapy. The longevity gene – Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) – was first identified in yeast two decades ago. Known to be activated by reduced food intake, the longevity gene has been studied extensively in the search for cures for age-related and lifestyle diseases.

Pharmaceutical companies have long been trying to design a drug that activates and specific biological pathways in genes to tackle lifestyle diseases. A biolog- ical pathway is a series of actions among molecules in a cell that leads to a certain product or a change in a cell.

However, researchers said that a lack of information on which part of the gene controls our biological pathways prevents researchers from finding a remedy.

“Often drugs fail to provide relief as they end up activating pathways other than the specified one. We have identified a part of the gene that can determine which particular biological pathway it can activate,” said Ullas Kolthur, lead investigator and associate professor, department of biological of sciences, TIFR.

“This region determines how a drug interacts with other proteins. This will help us understand how it provides protection against diseases such as diabetes, obesity, brain degenerative disorders and heart diseases.”

“Research conducted in the past two decade shows that this gene is important because it protects against several diseases,” said Kolthur. “People can live longer if this gene functions well,” he added.

This gene makes a particular type of protein that controls the properties of several other proteins inside cells, making it a master regulator. This, however, can also become harmful as it can also activate biological pathways that could be destructive, if uncontrolled.

Researchers said that the team’s findings supported recent literature, which showed that currently available drugs are likely to target the same region of the gene indiscriminately.