Researchers at South Korea’s Chung-Ang University have taken an important step toward understanding aging processes and developing methods to combat age-related diseases. Thus, scientists have invented an anti-aging drug called “IU1”.
Oku.AzAs reported by Gazeta.ru, the results of the scientists’ research were published in the magazine “Autophagy”.
It is reported that one of the main causes of aging is the alteration of protein quality control systems in cells; This leads to the accumulation of defective proteins and cellular stress. It is these abnormal proteins that lead to the development of many age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Scientists have found that the drug “IU1” increases the effectiveness of two main mechanisms of protein quality control in cells: proteasomes and autophagy.
Note that the proteasome is a multiprotein complex that destroys unnecessary or defective proteins, and during autophagy, lysosomes process dysfunctional components of cells.
Experiments with insects have shown that administration of “IU1” produces a significant improvement in muscle function and an increase in life expectancy. Similar results were obtained in studies carried out on human cells.
It is reported that the research results may be important for the development of treatment methods for various age-related diseases.
