Mito
Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2016
- Messages
- 2,554
How did we evolve to live longer?
“Research shows a collection of small adaptations in stress activated proteins, accumulated over millennia of human history, could help to explain our increased natural defences and longer lifespan.”
“In the study the authors were able to identify how a protein called p62 is activated to induce autophagy. They found that p62 can be activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are by-products of our metabolism that can cause damage in the cell. This ability of p62 to sense ROS allows the cell to remove the damage and to survive this stress. In lower organisms, such as fruit flies, p62 is not able to do this.
The team identified the part of the human p62 protein which allows it to sense ROS and created genetically modified fruit flies with ‘humanised’ p62. These ‘humanised’ flies survived longer in conditions of stress. Dr Korolchuk adds: “This tells us that abilities like sensing stress and activating protective processes like autophagy may have evolved to allow better stress resistance and a longer lifespan.”
Oxidation of SQSTM1/p62 mediates the link between redox state and protein homeostasis
“We propose that the redox-sensitivity of p62 may have evolved in vertebrates as a mechanism that allows activation of autophagy in response to oxidative stress to maintain cellular homoeostasis and increase cell survival.”
“Research shows a collection of small adaptations in stress activated proteins, accumulated over millennia of human history, could help to explain our increased natural defences and longer lifespan.”
“In the study the authors were able to identify how a protein called p62 is activated to induce autophagy. They found that p62 can be activated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are by-products of our metabolism that can cause damage in the cell. This ability of p62 to sense ROS allows the cell to remove the damage and to survive this stress. In lower organisms, such as fruit flies, p62 is not able to do this.
The team identified the part of the human p62 protein which allows it to sense ROS and created genetically modified fruit flies with ‘humanised’ p62. These ‘humanised’ flies survived longer in conditions of stress. Dr Korolchuk adds: “This tells us that abilities like sensing stress and activating protective processes like autophagy may have evolved to allow better stress resistance and a longer lifespan.”
Oxidation of SQSTM1/p62 mediates the link between redox state and protein homeostasis
“We propose that the redox-sensitivity of p62 may have evolved in vertebrates as a mechanism that allows activation of autophagy in response to oxidative stress to maintain cellular homoeostasis and increase cell survival.”