"There are 8% 'fossil' sequences in the human genome that integrate ancient virus genes, and we found for the first time that its activation can induce aging." On January 8, Liu Guanghui, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Science and Technology Daily that the research also proved that inhibiting the "reactivation" of these genes can delay the aging of tissues and bodies. Related research was published online in the journal Cell. For millions of years, the human immune system has actively responded to the virus invasion, integrating it into the human genome and being taken over by the host cell's genetic regulation system for coevolution. With the growth of age, genetic regulation is "neglected", and ancient virus gene elements can escape supervision and be awakened and activated, leading to aging. In order to find out the mechanism of ancient virus gene awakening, the research team has carried out "bottom-up" abnormal research on transcription and methylation in different aging research systems built by themselves, such as premature aging syndrome in children and premature aging syndrome in adults. By virtue of the cross disciplinary technology of high-throughput chain specific transcript sequencing, whole genome DNA methylation sequencing, immune electron microscopy and other disciplines, the scope is narrowed step by step, and the "source" of ancient virus activation is finally pinpointed. Liu Guanghui introduced that the dense DNA packaging in senescent cells became loose, which led to the transcriptional activation of ancient virus genes, and translated viral proteins, which were also packaged into viral particles. The more unexpected discovery is that these virus particles can effectively transmit and amplify aging signals among organs, tissues and cells, and finally make the surrounding young cells aging due to "infection". After understanding the mechanism, the team continued to explore ways to inhibit the virus. "We can first silence the regulatory elements of ancient virus gene reactivation by gene editing." Liu Guanghui introduced that researchers have developed more inhibition strategies through the analysis of the whole latency, reactivation, intercellular transmission and other different links. Small molecule drugs targeting reverse transcriptase, neutralizing antibodies targeting viral envelope proteins and other technologies can also delay tissue or body aging. The research creatively put forward the theory that ancient virus reactivation mediates aging programmability and infectivity, and dynamically captured the "resurrection" process by using cutting-edge cross technologies such as molecular imaging, virology, immunology, chemical biology and molecular pathology, providing a new theoretical basis for aging programmability, cascade expansion and intervention. (Outlook New Times)
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