Israeli scientists have learned to extend the life of mice by 23 percent and are confident that the method can work on people. A team of specialists from the University of Israel’s named after Bar-Ilan and the US National Health Institute revealed SIRT6 protein, raising the level of which increased the life expectancy of mice and even strengthened their oncology resistance, writes The Times of Israel.
Sirt6 protein stock decreases with age. The increase in the protein is positively reflected on the duration of life, youth and resistance to cancer in mice, wrote scientists in the journal Nature Communications. “The change in the life expectancy was significant, if we consider that the equivalent leap of the expected life expectancy would lead to the fact that we would live on an average of almost 120 years old,” said Professor Haim Cohen (Haim Cohen) from the University of Bar-Ilan.
In 2012, Cohen became the first researcher who actually increased the level of protein in animals and the duration of their lives, forcing males mice to live 15 percent longer. The experience did not affect the females. In collaboration with Professor Rafael de Cabo (Rafael de Cabo) from the US National Health Institute, Cohen brought the method to detect a jump in the expected lifespan and among males, and among female mice. Moreover, males lived by 30 percent longer than males from the control group, and females – by 15 percent longer.
When assessing the youth of mice, scientists noticed that they did not lose the ability to generate energy after short starvation from fats and lactic acid, which usually occurs during aging. They had fewer cholesterol, they were less likely to have cancer and could run faster. “This discovery shows that SIRT6 controls the speed of healthy aging. That is, the increase in its activity can potentially slow the aging,” explained Cohen, noting that there are no tools for translating success with mice on people, but after two or three years of his laboratory. Correct with the task. Scientists already develop small molecules that can increase the level of SIRT6 or make existing protein amounts more active in the human body.
Previously, scientists from Singapore, Russia and the United States under the guidance of Peter Fedicheva from the Moscow Physico-Technical Institute (IFTI) developed a new method for determining biological age on blood test. The test allows the blood test to determine the indicator of the dynamic state of the body characterizing the overall level of physiological stability. As a result, scientists have established the highest possible lifespan of a person who is much longer than a hundred years.