Delay the effects of aging has been one of the goals of medical science. Branches like the medicine, the genetics and the biology they seek to answer questions such as why degenerative and chronic diseases appear more frequently over the years.
Scientists and students of the School of Medicine of the University San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) They focused their attention on the mitochondrial mechanisms that influence aging.
The study group heads it Andrés Caicedo, Research Professor at the USFQ School of Medicine, specialist in biomedicine and regenerative medicine.
Caicedo emphasizes that its group is a pioneer in Latin America in the application of mitochondrial therapy and so they can take the next step and investigate the reasons for the loss of energy from mitochondria, as a reason for aging and some diseases.
In fact, only in Chile some progress had been made at the University of the Andes in Santiago. They have progressed in the development of the immunoregulation, Which is the fact of transplanting mitochondria into cells of the immune system to induce cell regeneration.
But from the goals of the USFQ group, the Chileans have decided to join and work together with the Ecuadorians to detect mutations in the USFQ. mitochondrial genes and its relationship to aging.
In countries like USA and Germany an approach to mitochondria had been made for regenerative purposes, but they have not delved into it.
Caicedo says that we all age, the problem is that our own cells can, in this process, promote the development of chronic and degenerative diseases such as hypertension, arthritis …
Scholars found that a mitochondrial gene could be related to maintaining health and longevity. The mitochondrion is an organelle of the cell, it is responsible for processing fats and carbohydrates to convert these components into energy, he says Verónica Castañeda, Engineer in biotechnological processes, expert in bioinformatics and cell culture, And a member of the research team. He summarizes that mitochondria are the body’s energy plant.
To decrease the likelihood of suffering from chronic and degenerative diseases it is important to maintain a good level of cellular energy.
The pioneering project a Latin America looks for modifications in the Mitochondrial DNA.
The main goal was to locate the genetic variants that help mitochondria maintain adequate energy generation. In doing so you can distinguish the ones that work best and transplant them to the damaged tissues by time. In this way, it is possible to rejuvenate its function, returning it to its properties.
The team found that there are human populations in China, Japan and Turkey who have more longevity. These people possess variants of mitochondrial genes. USFQ researchers identified a gene that is repeated in members of these groups.
this one has eight variants. It was then decided to focus research on which of these modifications can delay aging.
It was determined that three of the eight genetic possibilities can interact beneficially with the mitochondrial proteins around them.
The work developed by the USFQ team of researchers was accepted for presentation at the Congress of the International Society for Regenerative Cell Therapy which will be in New Orleans, USA, since May 20, 2021. It is one of the most important scientific events in regenerative medicine in the world.
Another member of the group, Ivonne Salines details that variants of the analyzed gene interact specifically with the metabolism and the onset of degenerative and chronic diseases. This is especially important in Ecuador for the prevalence of pathologies such as obesity and atherosclerosis.
Caicedo recalls that 10 years ago it sounded like science fiction to transplant mitochondria into tissues. At the same time this therapy is already applied in the USFQ itself, a veterinary patients, To help them heal their various wounds.