While medical science and a healthy lifestyle can help increase life expectancy, many aspects of aging and longevity are beyond our control. Published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Michael Eisen and colleagues shed light on these genetic factors by identifying sets of genes whose expression changes with age in human and chimp brains.
(I-Newswire) - Using results from three microarray data studies performed in old and young humans and chimps in four different regions of the cortex ( the brain region responsible for functions such as thinking ), the authors found a pattern of age-related changes in the expression of hundreds of genes. Only one non-cortical region, the cerebellum ( whose principal functions include movement ), showed little change in age-related gene expression. Intriguingly, the set of affected cortical genes was different between humans and chimps. Since humans and chimps diverged about 5 million years ago - these changes have accumulated over a relatively short evolutionary time.
What might account for the difference? One common theory of aging holds that damage is done to DNA and proteins by “free-radicals” ( highly reactive molecules produced by the metabolic activity of mitochondria ). It predicts that more metabolically active tissues will show greater age-related differential gene expression. The results of this study support this theory since the more metabolically active cortex shows a greater reduction in gene activity.
These results raise questions about age-related gene expression changes, including whether metabolically active non-brain tissues display similar patterns, and whether the divergence between human and chimp patterns was the direct result of selection or an inevitable consequence of some other difference in brain evolution. The patterns seen here provide a starting point for understanding genetic changes in aging, and may reveal targets for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Citation: Fraser HB, Khaitovich P, Plotkin JB, Pääbo S, Eisen MB ( 2005 ) Aging and gene expression in the primate brain. PLoS Biol 3( 9 ): e274.
dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030274
CONTACT: Hunter B. Fraser University of California, Berkeley 1 Cyclotron Road, MS 84-355 Berkeley, CA USA 94720 +1-510-486-6791 hfraser@uclink.berkeley.edu
All works published in PLoS Biology are open access. Everything is immediately available without cost to anyone, anywhere--to read, download, redistribute, include in databases, and otherwise use--subject only to the condition that the original authorship and source are properly attributed. Copyright is retained by the authors. The Public Library of Science uses the Creative Commons Attribution License.
If you have questions regarding information in this press release contact the company listed below. I-Newswire.com is a press release service and not the author of this press release. The information that is on or available through this site is for informational purposes only and speaks only as of the particular date or dates of that information. As some companies / PR Agencies submit their press releases once per week/month or quarter, make sure check the official company website for accurate release dates as our site displays the I-Newswire.com distribution date only. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information on or available through this site, and we are not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in that information or for actions taken in reliance on that information.
Immerse yourself in mystery and magic with two exciting new casual games from Focus Multimedia and Big Fish Games Studios, one of the world’s leading casual game developers. Hidden Expedition Titanic and Azada join Focus’ popular Revival range of super-budget price games and are available in a store near you.
Edraw Max enables students, teachers and business professionals to reliably create and publish kinds of diagrams to represent any ideas. With large pre-drawn libraries and more than 4600 vector symbols, drawing couldn't be easier!
New range of cards launched to make you the cover star.Hallmark Cards in partnership with OK Magazine has launched an exclusive and exciting new range of greeting cards that gives people the chance to give family and friends the A-List treatment.
Many people choose not to pursue an accident claim. The reasons range from knowing the insurance company will settle; to they don't want the legal hassles and expense.
Many individuals and businesses have always purchased their personal computers from a well-known provider to pre-conceived specifications. Increasingly...
The effectiveness of SEO and PPC Services are directly related to the quality and quantity of the performance data that they have to work with. If you are seeking assistance in achieving a higher ranking on search engine results, then we suggest you visit RankYourWebsites.com, specialist in this area. If you have found your attempts at optimization to prove fruitless, the representatives at RankYourWebsites.com will have a solution to increase your traffic.
http://www.vineyardsforsalein.com/ - online island vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale paso, texas vineyard for sale, washington vineyard for sale, tuscany vineyard for sale, vineyard for sale santa, vineyard for sale California
Mark Flanagan, Managing Director of Manchester health and safety, food safety and fire safety consultancy, Shieldyourself, discussed the Scores on the Doors scheme when he made a guest appearance on the BBC’s 5 Live Radio Show recently.
