Scientists from the Salk Institute and the University of California at San Diego have discovered a previously unknown factor involved in the aging process: the lipid class SGDG, or 3-sulfogalactosyldiacylglycerols. These compounds have an anti-inflammatory effect, but their content in the brain decreases with age. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, a brief summary of the scientific work is described in a press release on MedicalXpress.
The researchers studied changes in the lipidome – the entirety of all lipid molecules – in the brains of mice throughout their lives. To do this, the methods of non-targeted lipidomics were applied, a relatively recent field of research that includes identifying and measuring the level of thousands of types of lipid molecules, as well as identifying their interactions with other biological compounds. Analysis of lipids taken from the brains of mice of five age groups (4 to 78 weeks) was performed on the basis of liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.
Scientists found that sulfogalactosylglycerolipids, which include SGDG and sulfogalactosylalkylacylglycerols (SGAAG), show a steady decline with age. The decrease in the level of SGDG and SGAAG associated with aging occurred precisely in the central nervous system, while SGDGs were structural components of myelin, the cellular structure that forms the sheath of nerve fibers.
A common feature of age-related neurodegenerative diseases is inflammation, which contributes to neuronal damage and death. The experiments demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect of SGDG: they drastically suppress the gene expression induced by polysaccharides (powerful activators of the immune system) and block the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines from macrophages and microglial cells.
Researchers have also shown that these lipids are present not only in the brains of mice, but also in humans and primates, which means that GSDG has most likely maintained its anti-inflammatory functions for tens of millions of years of evolution. In the future, the authors intend to investigate how SGDG is regulated during aging and which proteins are responsible for their synthesis and degradation.
Many modern studies are reversing our understanding of life and the world. In the gallery are collected 10 great discoveries of 21st century medicine:
Watch the video:
“source =” viqeo “data-logger =” ArticleContent_embed_viqeo “>
