Key gene found responsible for chronic inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer

e! Science News ^ | May 25, 2012 | NA

[neverdem]

Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have, for the first time, identified a single gene that simultaneously controls inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer. "This was certainly an unexpected finding," said principal investigator Robert J. Schneider, PhD, the Albert Sabin Professor of Molecular Pathogenesis, associate director for translational research and co-director of the Breast Cancer Program at NYU Langone Medical Center. "It is rather uncommon for one gene to have two very different and very significant functions that tie together control of aging and inflammation. The two, if not regulated properly, can eventually lead to cancer development. It's an exciting scientific find."

The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears online ahead of print May 24 in Molecular Cell and is scheduled for the July 13 print issue.

For decades, the scientific community has known that inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer are somehow intertwined, but the connection between them has remained largely a mystery, Dr. Schneider said. What was known, due in part to past studies by Schneider and his team, was that a gene called AUF1 controls inflammation by turning off the inflammatory response to stop the onset of septic shock. But this finding, while significant, did not explain a connection to accelerated aging and cancer.

When the researchers deleted the AUF1 gene, accelerated aging occurred, so they continued to focus their research efforts on the gene. Now, more than a decade in the making, the mystery surrounding the connection between inflammation, advanced aging and cancer is finally being unraveled.

The current study reveals that AUF1, a family of four related genes, not only controls the inflammatory response, but also maintains the integrity of chromosomes by activating the enzyme telomerase to repair the ends of chromosomes, thereby simultaneously reducing inflammation, preventing rapid aging and the development of cancer, Dr. Schneider explained.

"AUF1 is a medical and scientific trinity," Dr. Schneider said. "Nature has designed a way to simultaneously turn off harmful inflammation and repair our chromosomes, thereby suppressing aging at the cellular level and in the whole animal."

With this new information, Dr. Schneider and colleagues are examining human populations for specific types of genetic alterations in the AUF1 gene that are associated with the co-development of certain immune diseases, increased rates of aging and higher cancer incidence in individuals to determine exactly how the alterations manifest and present themselves clinically.

Source: NYU Langone Medical Center

[Myrddin]

bump for later

[llandres]

Bfl

[Irish Eyes]

marked to look at tomorrow.

[neverdem]

mRNA Decay Factor AUF1 Maintains Normal Aging, Telomere Maintenance, and Suppression of Senescence by Activation of Telomerase Transcription

FReepmail me if you want on or off my combined microbiology/immunology ping list.

[kruss3]

I guess this abuse from the geneticocrapologists will never cease. 12% of the entire human genome (20k genes) is turned on or off by vitamin d. This is called the epigenetic effect. Most of our “diseases” are the product of environments that we control. If you eat a lot of carbs and don’t run ten miles per day you are going to be fat, diabetic and die of heart disease. The geneticists as a group have been deceiving the world that they were going to deliver us from the limitations of our genetic predispositions toward cancer, heart disease, strokes et al. This will likely never happen. Most of our life expectancies are determined by our lack of sweating (iron overload) and vitamin d deficiency (too much bathing in chlorinated water).

[Colorado Buckeye]

Nice find; these are very interesting results.

[Billthedrill]

Excellent stuff, thanks for posting. BTT.

[Talisker]

I guess this abuse from the geneticocrapologists will never cease. 12% of the entire human genome (20k genes) is turned on or off by vitamin d. This is called the epigenetic effect. Most of our “diseases” are the product of environments that we control. If you eat a lot of carbs and don’t run ten miles per day you are going to be fat, diabetic and die of heart disease. The geneticists as a group have been deceiving the world that they were going to deliver us from the limitations of our genetic predispositions toward cancer, heart disease, strokes et al. This will likely never happen. Most of our life expectancies are determined by our lack of sweating (iron overload) and vitamin d deficiency (too much bathing in chlorinated water).

Well that's a whole lot of information to spit out of your nose at one time. Did it make you sneeze? It's too bad too, because this article seems pretty astounding. I can't exactly see why it wouldn't be a good thing to know as much as possible about a single gene that controls chronic inflammation, accelerated aging and cancer. On the other hand, it would be good to know about the link between iron and sweating, ten miles of running and heart disease, and all the other information you learned, got bored with, and determined none of us peons can handle.

Sucks to be you - so much brilliance, and no one worth talking to. What a drag, you know how to live forever, but the only thing left to do is stare into a mirror.

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[azishot]

Thanks, Smokin’ Joe....bookmarked.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[allmendream]

Genes being turned on or off in response to a signal (for example Vitamin D) is just regular old transcription control. There is nothing epigenetic about it.

Epigenetics has to do with the methylation state of DNA (a chemical modification) and the association of DNA with chromatin - especially the passing on of this state to offspring.

If you don't even know that, how do you know that geneticists have been “deceiving the world”?

[Smokin' Joe]

Ping... (Thanks, neverdem!)

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping.