What’s the connection between malfunctioning proteins and aging? How do you get your proteins to “work” again?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A substance that builds up as we age is protein. Proteins are the building blocks of all of our tissues, and as they malfunction, they accumulate and cause harmful effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continue reading for why malfunctioning proteins age the human body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
In Ageless<\/em>, Andrew Steele explains that scientists have studied three ways malfunctioning proteins and aging are connected. This is how malfunctioning proteins accumulate in tissues around the body:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) A slowdown in autophagy, a process that removes and recycles old protein molecules.<\/strong> As you age, leftover pieces of proteins accumulate and impair autophagy. Steele notes that this plays a role in Parkinson\u2019s disease, where deposits called \u201cLewy bodies\u201d form in the brain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The potential fix<\/strong>: Steele writes that dietary restriction (eating fewer calories) stimulates autophagy. Scientists have also found drugs, called dietary restriction mimetics, that simulate the effects of dietary restriction without a change in diet. Plus, they\u2019re developing ways to boost autophagy directly with bacteria that help cells to break down waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) A buildup of amyloids: misshapen protein molecules that form when proteins fold incorrectly.<\/strong> Amyloids stick together and form plaques in your organs and tissues, leading to Parkinson\u2019s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington\u2019s disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The potential fix<\/strong>: Steele writes that we could use antibodies\u2014proteins that mark viruses or bacteria that the immune system needs to destroy\u2014to signal the immune system to clear amyloids. Alternatively, we could use specific antibodies called catabodies that can destroy the proteins themselves. A third option would be to use a virus,<\/em> M13, that breaks apart the proteins implicated in Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s, and Huntington\u2019s diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) The accumulation of<\/strong> adducts<\/strong>. Adducts are proteins formed when reactive sugars and oxygen attach themselves to your proteins and stop them from functioning properly. Adducts are to blame for diminishing bone strength and stiffening blood vessel walls as you age. And when collagen\u2014a protein in your skin and blood vessels\u2014gets more sugary and oxidized, it stiffens, which causes visible aging in your skin and stiffening in your arteries, lungs, and tendons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The potential fix<\/strong>: Steele explains that drug treatments could remove sugar molecules from collagen and make the tissue flexible again. Alternatively, scientists could develop treatments to prompt the body to destroy and replace old collagen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n