A new grant partners longevity researchers and Alzheimer鈥檚 experts at Rochester to study the gene mechanisms that contribute to long and healthy lifespans.
Whether you give a mouse a cookie, as the book title goes, or kale leaves, or hot-stone massages, they will not live longer than two to three years. But other mammals, like naked mole rats and bowhead whales, can live much longer鈥攁nd perhaps can teach us to follow suit.
At the 人妻少妇专区, a new collaboration between leading longevity researchers and brain disease experts examines gene mechanisms responsible for long life, drawing on the latest findings to pursue novel interventions for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and related dementias.
Today鈥檚 oldest naked mole rats, born during the Reagan administration, show exceptional resistance to age-related disease. Meanwhile, when degus (small Chilean rodents) develop Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, it progresses in a remarkably similar manner to humans. Examining the genes of these mammals has the potential to yield insights into how humans can live longer鈥攚ith their cognitive faculties intact.
鈥淣o matter how much you pamper a mouse, it will not live to 40 years as naked mole rats will,鈥� says , the Doris Johns Cherry Professor in the departments of and of . To bridge the knowledge gap from rodents, whales, and other long-lived mammals to humans, Gorbunova tapped , a professor of at the 人妻少妇专区 Medical Center, who has studied the pathogenesis of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease for 30 years.
Recognizing the research potential of this partnership, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, recently awarded Gorbunova, O鈥橞anion, and their team of researchers a to study the comparative genomics of longevity and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. The grant, which is headed by Gorbunova, also includes Rochester faculty members Andrei Seluanov and Hongbo Liu, along with colleagues at Harvard University, Einstein College of Medicine, Washington University, and Mount Sinai鈥檚 Icahn School of Medicine.
Aging, Alzheimer鈥檚, and anti-inflammation
Last year, after decades of research, Gorbunova and Seluanov successfully transferred to mice a 鈥�longevity gene鈥� they had identified in naked mole rats. This gene drives the production of a molecule called HMW-HA, which seems to play a role in cellular protection and repair. Compared to mice and humans, naked mole rats have about ten times more HMW-HA in their bodies. Mice with the longevity gene added showed improved overall health, a 4.4 percent increase in lifespan, and reduced inflammation.
鈥淎ll disease associated with aging involves inflammation in multiple systems, including the brain,鈥� O鈥橞anion explains. 鈥淢y expertise is studying inflammation鈥檚 role in Alzheimer鈥檚, and their research into identifying inflammation pathways creates a natural cohesion between my work and Vera鈥檚 team.鈥�
The partnership across campuses harnesses the University鈥檚 longstanding strengths in advancing understanding of the human brain and translating this knowledge into clinical breakthroughs for neurological disorders, including Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and paralysis. In addition, students working with researchers, including several in the , have the opportunity to advance findings with real-world impact for their parents and grandparents.
As an earlier outcome of their interactions, O鈥橞anion and Gorbunova co-direct a training grant from NIA for graduate students in various disciplines鈥攕uch as biology, neuroscience, and pharmacology/physiology鈥攖o explore the intersection of aging and Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
鈥淓ach student in this grant-funded program brings their own perspectives, experiences, and ways of thinking to our common research goals,鈥� O鈥橞anion says.
O鈥橞anion鈥檚 career at Rochester equals the lifespan of a naked mole rat鈥攁 professional longevity that suits him. 鈥淥ne reason I鈥檝e stayed all this time at Rochester is the opportunity to pursue collaborations like these,鈥� he says. 鈥淭his grant exemplifies the genuine connectedness and transdisciplinary approach here: the questions people bring, the spirit with which they are welcomed, and the willingness to work together to solve them.鈥�
The 鈥榯hrill鈥� of discovery
鈥淎lthough we focus on Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� says Gorbunova, 鈥渢he grant is broader than that. By diving into the genetics of degus and naked mole rats, we are striving to understand the basic biology of aging and disease.鈥�
With shared interests in comparative biology, the researchers express hope for discovery science that extends human health spans.
鈥淚 am optimistic for the potential to find interventions that might benefit Alzheimer鈥檚 and dementia patients,鈥� says O鈥橞anion. 鈥淚f we can slow down inflammation or DNA damage, by taking cues from mammals that seem to have tackled those problems, there may be specific mechanisms that become targets for therapeutic treatment. That is the thrill of endeavors like these: in the long stretches of science, finding something new and unexpected.鈥�
