Damaged DNA causes ageing
18 July 2005
by Richard
Conan-Davies
|
Growing old, according to a new study by a team from University of Wisconsin-Madison, is partly due to mutations that build up in the DNA of energy-generating mitochondria in cells. This triggers the death of these critical cells and leads to such things as hair and weight loss, hearing and vision impairment, loss of muscle mass, weakened bones and fewer circulating red blood cells. The team, led by Tomas A. Prolla, used genetically modified mice which lacked the ability to proofread DNA replication and showed they tended to suffer cell death much earlier than normal mice. " It's like a broken spellchecker," explained Prolla. "By introducing a malfunction in the (genetic) proofreading domain, these mutations accumulate much more rapidly." This type of discovery could lead to ways of restoring some functions such as hearing by protecting mitochondrial DNA from naturally occurring mutations. |
 DNA damage in critcal cells seems to be one of the main causes of ageing. |
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Original press release from UW-Madison
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