An excellent article by Ed Yong in National Geographic, “Scientists Urge Study of Environmental Factors That May Speed Aging – New Paper urges more work on “gerontogens” in the environment” discussed research that explores whether substances in the environment increase the rate of aging.
The research was carried out by Jessica Sorrentino, Hanna Sanoff, and Norman Sharpless and their paper was published in Trends in Molecular Medicine.
So what are these substances the researchers called “gerontogens”?
- arsenic in groundwater
- benzene in industrial emissions,
- ultraviolet radiation in sunlight,
- the many chemicals in tobacco smoke.
- overeating
- stress
In order to identify gerontogens the researchers had to find a way to measure aging. They decided to study senescence. This is when cells stop dividing and there are more and more of these senescent cells in people as they age. Also, these cells have ten times as much of a protein called P16 as normal cells. They needed a way to measure P16 and they used an ingenious method.
They genetically engineered mice that produce a protein that glows when they produce P16. Now they could measure levels of P16. The next step involved exposing the mice to gerontogens and measuring the increases in P16.
This is exciting research because if they can identify those factors that contribute to aging we can try and remove those gerontogens from our environment.