Protein that may responsible for shorter life span found

(vIndianz My 10, 2010): A group of researchers has identified a protein in the tiny roundworm C.elegans that could be the cause for a shorter life span.

c_elegans
The researchers working in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Thomas Jefferson University discovered that the worm born without the protein arrestin in their system had life spans that were one-third longer than the average life span. However, when the worms had three times the normal amount of arrestin, their life spans reduced by one-third of the average life span.
The research revealed that arrestin regulates the longevity by interacting with other proteins in a cell. A similar type of one of these proteins, that is present in humans is called PTEN, which is a well-known tumor suppressant.
The Chairman of the department Jeffrey L. Benovic noted that as most proteins present in worms are similar to the ones in humans, this new discovery could be very important for human biology and for understanding the development of cancer.
The arrestin protein switches off the activity of G-protein coupled receptors within the cells. These G-protein coupled receptors are responsible for the regulation of many physiological processes. Once the arrestin gene was deleted from the worms, they were found to live longer than usual.
The roundworm was chosen for the study as they have an average lifespan of two to three weeks, making it easier for researchers to find results. They also have a single arrestin gene compared to the four in humans. Worms also have a significantly low neuron count as compared to humans.

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Protein that may responsible for shorter life span found

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