In research presented today at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, results validating two theories of aging were revealed at a seminar titled “A Mechanism Linking Lipid Dynamics and Longevity.”

The researchers presented evidence to support the two theories that old age is the final stage of a developmental program and the result of a lifelong accumulation of unrepaired cellular and molecular damage in S. cerevisiae (yeast). They refer to this as a ‘modular longevity network’.

No details are available yet about how it was they came to these conclusions, but in general terms they have apparently done the following:

• Identified a mechanism closely linking lifespan to the dynamics of lipids, such as fatty acids and triglycerides – when fatty acids build up inside yeast cells they explode from within, scattering their contents and promoting inflammation in surrounding cells.
• Showed that in addition to cell death, the build-up of fatty acids within the cell ultimately results in the production of diacylglycerol, which impairs the yeast’s stress-response defenses
• Evaluated the effects of low and high calorie diets on the lifespan and lipid dynamics of yeast, finding that a calorie-rich diet suppressed the oxidation of fatty acids in peroxisomes, leading to their building up in lipid bodies in the cell. They also found that calorie restriction (CR) altered fatty acid metabolism in the cell.
• Compared the effects of CR and known anti-aging gene mutations against a variety of age-related changes in fat metabolism and lipid transport
• Developed a novel lifespan assay to allow rapid determination of longevity-influencing factors
• Used this new assay to identify five groups of novel anti-aging small molecules that significantly delayed yeast aging by remodeling lipid dynamics in the ER, peroxisomes, and lipid bodies or by activating stress response-related processes in mitochondria.

So, it all sounds very exciting and I would have liked to be there today to find out what their research actually entailed. There also seems to be a number of other interesting aging-related research being presented. I expect we’ll see a publication soon, but until then I suppose we can just continue to boggle our minds as always, trying to put all the pieces of the aging story together.

This is from a Eurekalert! press release