(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It may not be the fountain of youth, but new
research on insulin shows it plays an important role in aging and lifespan.
Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Irvine, Calif., report insulin
inhibits a master gene regulator protein called SKN-1; increased SKN-1 activity
increases lifespan, according to researchers.
“The major implication is that we have found something new that affects lifespan
and aging and an important new effect that insulin and/or a related hormone
called insulin-like growth factor-1 may have in some tissues,” T. Keith
Blackwell, M.D., Ph.D., senior investigator at Joslin Diabetes Center and an
associate professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and a faculty member
at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, was quoted as saying. “The implications go
far beyond diabetes.”
Dr. Blackwell, who is also the author of the paper, adds that fine tuning SKN-1
could also lead to increased resistance to other chronic diseases.
These findings came as a result of experiments done on a microscopic worm often
used as a model organism. Researchers found SKN-1 controls a network of genes
that defend cells and tissue against damage from free radicals and environmental
toxins. “You can manipulate the expression of SKN-1 and the worms live longer,”
Dr. Blackwell said.
The experiments will be repeated in mammals, but according to Dr. Blackwell,
other findings from this particular worm model have turned out to be applicable
to mice and humans.
SOURCE: Cell, 2008;132:1025-1038
