Reducing the expression of a master control gene called the Myc proto-oncogene protein by 50 percent added 15 percent more life to mice and prevented the mice from developing signs of advanced age. John Sedivy, the Hermon C. Bumpus Professor of Biology and professor of medical science at Brown University, and colleagues are the first to prove the age defying potential of a single gene.
The Myc proto-oncogene protein exists in all animal cells. The gene controls the development, growth, and death of all cells in an animal’s body. The gene may have been one of the first master regulator genes that evolved. This gene has also been implicated in causing the explosive growth of some cancers.
The researchers bred mice that had only one copy of the Myc gene instead of the normal two copies. The genetically altered mice lived 15 percent longer than normal mice. The mice also demonstrated fewer signs of advanced age like arthritis, cancer, and declining mental abilities than normal mice. Female mice lived longer than male mice by an average of five percent. The only cellular or physiological drawback to the age defying discovery was the mice that were genetically altered were smaller than normal mice.
At present, the researchers are not ready to launch a human trial of the same genetic procedure. The study does indicate that certain drugs that reduce the expression of the Myc gene could produce the same results in humans. The research is the first step in producing a longer, healthier life for people.
One must consider what passes as normal aging at present. Constant medication and weekly visits to a physician are the routine for most people of advanced years. Few people that experience this existence would call it living. The research may be the key to an enjoyable advanced age free of the disease and pain that presently is a part of getting old. The drain on Medicare could be reduced to a trickle by altering the expression of a single gene.
