THE ageing process may have an Achilles heel, researchers say.
Gabrielle Boulianne of the University of Toronto and her colleagues report
that they have increased the lifespan of fruit flies by 40 per cent by making
them produce the human enzyme superoxide dismutase or SOD in their motor neurons
(Nature Genetics, vol 19, p 171). SOD inactivates oxygen radicals,
byproducts of metabolism long suspected to cause the cellular damage that leads
to ageing.
The results suggest that motor neurons are a weak link in the fly鈥檚 defence
against free radicals鈥攁nd the same may be true for humans. Boulianne says
SOD is widespread in animals. 鈥淣ow we know that it can have a profound effect on
longevity by acting in only a few cells,鈥� says Boulianne. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to look for
that effect in other organisms.鈥�
Advertisement