From: Rafal Smigrodzki (rms2g@virginia.edu)
Date: Tue Dec 10 2002 - 09:31:21 MST
Robert Bradbury wrote:
>
> I'd tend to disagree. Stress leads to DNA damage, DNA damage results
> in a corrupted code, a corrupted code results in cells that function
> poorly, poorly functioning cells leads to aging.
>
> It seems quite logical to me. Proving it is the hard part -- though
> Jan Vijg's work on the accumulation of mutations in transgenic mice
> seems to be providing some supporting data.
>
### Another line of evidence supporting this idea comes from my boss' lab -
the work on cybrids by Davis Parker, Russell Swerdlow, Janice Parks, Pat
Trimmer, as well as other labs, Schapira, Mitokor, shows that mitochondria
from aged humans have a reduced activity of complex I (in Parkinson's
disease) and complex IV ( in Alzheimer's disease) if transplanted into cell
lines different from their original background, and the composite cells
(neutral nuclear background + aged mitochondria) undergo apoptosis somewhat
easier from controls. Since neurodegeneration is one of the most important
aspects of aging in humans, this is strong evidence that mtDNA dysfunction
plays a role in aging.
Rafal
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